Different Galaxy, Same Old Story
by TheAddict4Dramatics
Summary: You wouldn't think you would see your friend's sister that often, they certainly ran in different circles. But they seemed to bump into each other all the time; work parties, birthday parties, parties at Luke's flat, dinners, cinema trips, incredibly awkward Skywalker/Organa family gatherings. You name it he'd seen her there. And he'd argued with her there too. H/L modern day AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me except the mistakes as this is un-beta'd.**

 **Note: This is very much a first for me writing a modern day AU. But let's be honest these two and their crazy chemistry work in any galaxy, near or far far away.**

 **Any recognisable dialogue I snatched from ESB (and I used the dialogue from the extended kiss scene in the Falcon).**

Different Galaxy, Same Old Story

Chapter One

"Hey Luke!" Han called as he spotted his friend propping up the bar in what was quickly becoming their favourite post-shift watering hole.

Luke turned, smiling instantly in recognition, and beckoning him over.

"Han, my friend, how are you?" Luke inquired, pulling him in for a quick embrace.

"Can't complain kid, can't complain. You remember my old card buddy Lando right?"

"Sure!" Luke smiled in greeting to the man standing behind Han and they shook hands. "I remember you swindled me out of a lot of money at the card table last time we met."

"Really? I remember I won a lot of money that night, fair and square." Lando countered.

"Unlikely." Han said, scoffing lightly. "So is it just us tonight?"

"No a few of the squadron boys are coming; Wedge and couple of his friends. You know how they can be, we'll be in for a long night. And I think my sister is going to pop down too."

"What, Leia?" Han asked sounding instantly annoyed.

"Yes. Unless you know of any _other_ long lost sisters of mine."

"With your family kid you never know, anything is possible." Luke laughed at his good-natured teasing and gestured to the barman to order some more drinks. "Well I guess that's put a downer on my night."

"Han…" Luke warned.

"What's the deal with you and his sister? Have you been a naughty boy Han?" Lando asked in the most suggestive voice he could manage. Han noticed Luke shifting uncomfortably on his seat.

"Oh no Luke's sister would not stoop so low, as she never fails to remind me." This produced more uncomfortable shifting from Luke but Han ploughed on regardless. "I know she's your sister but even you have to admit she can be a real uptight snob when she wants to be."

"She's not that bad!" Luke defended immediately. "And she'd be a lot better if you didn't deliberately rile her up every time you saw her!"

Han had to admit that was true. But for some inexplicable reason he found it the most enjoyable thing to provoke her into a full on screaming match. And she was so very easy to provoke. That was about the only thing that was easy about her. Han thought bitterly.

You wouldn't think you would see your friend's sister that often, they certainly ran in different circles. But they seemed to bump into each other all the time; work parties, birthday parties, parties at Luke's flat, dinners, cinema trips, incredibly awkward Skywalker/Organa family gatherings. You name it he'd seen her there. And he'd argued with her there too.

"Where would be the fun in that?! Besides your sister's kind of hot when she's mad, kid."

Lando made a low whistling noise and glanced excitedly between the two, hoping for some light fighting to liven up his night. Luke just grinned sarcastically, shaking his head, refusing to take the bait.

"She's having a shit time at work at the moment. Can you just be nice for once please? And if you can't manage that just don't talk to her at all."

"I'll be on my best behaviour." Han promised, though his smirk made it rather unconvincing.

At that moment Wedge and three others came tumbling down the stairs to the basement bar, calling and hollering, clearly already a few drinks ahead. Han turned back to Luke and smiled. Oh this was going to be a good night, he could tell.

/

Leia arrived about forty minutes later with a friend that Han had met a few times. What was her name? Ah yes, Winter. He'd always found her surprisingly amicable. The two were accompanied by a man Han had never seen before but judging by the way his hand never left Winter's arse he was guessing this guy was her new boyfriend.

The squadron boys were a few more drinks down by this time and Han, Luke and Lando had also made a valiant effort to catch up with them. Leia had sat at the bar and had a drink with her friends and Luke; chatting and laughing away whilst Han brooded in a corner booth.

Why did she always have to look so goddamn gorgeous? He found it infuriating. It was as if she looked that way just to remind to him of _exactly_ what he was missing. He'd told her this theory once, only half joking, in the middle of some heated, pointless disagreement they were having. 'Funnily enough I don't think about you when I'm getting ready in the morning Solo. Actually I don't think about you, ever.' Or something along those lines had been her response.

Leia was on her second drink now, still sitting at the bar. Luke had been dragged back to the dancefloor by Wedge and Winter and her man had disappeared somewhere else entirely. Han took his opportunity and approached her cautiously.

"Princess."

"Captain." She didn't turn to face him, almost as if she had been expecting him to come over. He took the seat next to her. "How's Chewie?"

Now this was safe territory. Han's beloved brown Newfoundland dog that Leia also found adorable despite the fact it probably weighed twice as much as she did.

"He's good, crazy as ever."

"He's a lovely dog."

The sat in silence for a moment. Han was struggling to have a conversation with her that wasn't targeted at winding her up. When the silence became uncomfortable he said:

"You look nice."

She turned her head to give him a pointed look but was surprised to find complete sincerity painted across his face.

"Erm… thank you." She answered, clearly taken aback.

"Hello, what do we have here?" Lando pushed his way between them and took Leia's hand in greeting. "I'm Lando Calrissian, Han's friend."

"How unfortunate for you." Leia answered automatically.

And so it begins, Han thought. He knew she was as capable of being nice to him as he was to her. That is – completely incapable of it.

"Who might you be?"

"Leia."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Leia." Lando leaned forward and kissed the back of her hand theatrically. She gave Han the pointed look she'd been intending earlier. But Lando's charm offensive wasn't over yet. "You look absolutely beautiful. You truly belong in the clouds."

"Thanks." She replied sarcastically.

"Can I buy you drink?"

To his disbelief, and dismay, Leia took one more look in Han's direction before nodding her agreement and letting herself be led by Lando further down the bar to where the waiter was serving.

"Son of a bitch." Han murmured to himself.

/

He met up with her again an indiscernible amount of time later. The fact that it was indiscernible was a sign that he should slow up on the drinks front. But then again if he was going to have to spend the evening watching Lando successfully flirt with Leia he was going to need every bit of alcohol he could lay his hands on.

As she wandered over to where he was propping himself up against the wall, Han recognised the slight daze in her expression and realised that one drink with Lando had probably turned into three or four.

Now drunk Leia, he knew from limited experience, was definitely a lot more fun and less intimidating to be around.

"Your friend Lando is quite the charmer. I've only just managed to get away."

"You're the one that agreed to have a drink with him."

"Well I thought it would annoy you."

His head snapped up in shock at the honesty of that statement. She was grinning at him in a devilishly playful manner. Okay if tonight was going to be one of the rare occasions where their banter boarded on the flirtatious instead of aggressive annoyance, then perhaps he was going to have more fun than he first supposed.

"Well you were right about that." He saw something flit across her cool expression but it was too fleeting to know what exactly. "Where's Winter and that guy?" He offered as a very obvious attempt to chance the subject.

"Off somewhere together. It's probably best we don't ask."

"Princess, I'm suddenly much more impressed with the company you keep." She rolled her eyes at him but remained smiling.

"Why aren't I surprised?" Han shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I'm just glad things are going so well. With Winter and Tycho I mean. I introduced them."

"What about you? Is anything 'going well' for you at the moment?" He asked cryptically.

It may have been the drink but his gaze was certainly a lot softer that it usually was when he was regarding her. It was very nearly making her blush.

"Not currently. You? How many things are 'going well' for you at the moment? Approximately."

"What do you mean?"

"You know; more than dozen, less than a dozen?"

"I'm not sure I like what you are implying about my character!" Han exclaimed, mock outrage clear in his voice. That earnt him a dazzling smile. God she had the most incredible smile; the kind that lights up her whole face, the whole room even. He had got to stop drinking already.

Leia opened her mouth to come back with some wise-crack of her own but she didn't get the chance. At that moment a bunch of drunk and boisterous guys pushed past them, inadvertently knocking Leia hard into Han. His hands immediately found her upper arms; gripping them tightly to stop her falling over and dropping his current drink in the process. Leia looked down and watched the glass smash at their feet.

"Are you alright?!" He asked in genuine concern.

Leia looked back up at him and nodded. The men were long gone, without so much as a backwards glance, but she didn't make a move to distance herself from him. At once Han became aware of just how close they were; they were practically touching top to toe and she had somehow ended up standing between his legs. He swallowed loudly. He really couldn't afford to be this close to her for too long.

"Let go." She said quietly still angling her face up to look at him.

He didn't. He didn't do anything. He was too busy thinking how easy it would be to dip his head slightly and catch her lips in his own. "Let go, please." She was definitely more insistent this time and accompanied her words with a hard, and unsuccessful, show away from him. The movement bolted him out of his reverie. He needed to recover from the effect of having her so close and he knew just how.

"Don't get excited!" He intentionally provoked.

"Captain, being held by you isn't quite enough to get me excited."

He turned her around suddenly in his arms until she had her back to the wall. He leaned in even closer to her, his tall frame now towering above her. He heard her gasp in shock and, dare he hope, excitement. Han's hands found her neck and he held them there softly, bending down to whisper:

"Sorry sweetheart, this isn't the right place for anything else."

With that he was gone, leaving an uncharacteristically speechless Leia.

/

Leia had managed to successfully avoid Han for the next hour or so. She had met up with Winter again and even danced with Luke and Wedge. All the while Han had been with Lando and two random girls that now seemed to be permanently attached to them, continually giggling like they were the funniest people on the planet.

Whatever the hell this thing was with her brother's friend was starting to get out of hand. He'd always seemed to have this uncanny ability to get under skin and make her see red just by being in the same room. She'd always suspected he liked their antagonistic exchanges, he certainly initiated them enough to suggest that, and to tell the truth she had always somewhat enjoyed them too. You can't beat a good argument.

Recently, however, it had somehow become more than that. She could no longer claim to never think about him. In fact she thought about him all the time and had indeed picked this very outfit tonight to try and get to him. That it had worked both terrified and thrilled her in equal measure.

Han Solo was absolutely _not_ the sort of person she should be getting involved with right now.

She was on her way back from the bathroom when she had another accidental run in with the same group of rowdy men. It really wasn't her night. This time they barged into her, knocking her bag off of her shoulder and scattering its contents all over the grimy bar floor. Leia cursed and bent down trying to gather up her dispersed belongings. Why hadn't security just kicked them out already?

She became aware of another presence kneeling on the floor in front of her and looked up to see Han. Perfect. Just what I need right now, she thought. He picked up the day planner that had slide out of her reach and passed it to her wordlessly. She snatched it from him.

"Hey, your worship, I'm only trying to help."

"Would you please stop calling me that." She'd never actually asked why he gave her all these nicknames – princess, your worship, your highness, the committee. But she could take a fair guess; he like many others, saw her privileged upbringing and assumed she was a spoilt, haughty brat.

"Sure, _Leia_."

"You make it so difficult sometimes." He nodded his sarcastic agreement.

"I do, I really do. You could be a little nicer though. Admit it, sometimes you think I'm alright."

Together they had collected all of her items by now and returned them to her bag. Only her shattered compact mirror remained on the floor. Leia went to grab it, cutting her finger on one of the shards of glass and hissing in pain. She stood and held the bleeding finger to her mouth. He followed her movements, standing also and looking at her hand in concern.

God, she wished he would stop looking at her like that. It was making it a lot more difficult to hate him.

"Occasionally," she conceded reluctantly, "maybe. When you aren't acting like a scoundrel."

Han took her injured hand in both of his and examined it carefully.

"Scoundrel?" He started rubbing his fingers softly over the cut. Too softly. And he was giving her one of those smiles again. "Scoundrel… I like the sound of that."

"Stop that!"

"Stop what?" She made a half-assed attempt to pull her hand away.

"Stop that. Your hands are probably dirty."

"Your hands are probably dirty too. What are you afraid of?" He had a point, she had just been rummaging around on a bar floor.

"Afraid?.." Was it her imagination or was he leaning in closer to her? "I'm afraid of getting the cut dirty."

"That's why you're trembling?"

Damn. So he could feel it.

"I'm not trembling." She uttered, her voice completely betraying her and trembling even more so than her limbs.

"You like me because I'm a scoundrel, there aren't enough scoundrels in your life." He was definitely leaning in closer now, she could feel his breathe dancing across her lips.

"I happen to like nice men."

"I'm nice man."

He sounded like a caveman. But somehow that didn't bother her, actually it was doing something rather pleasant to her insides. He was so close now, his nose brushing against hers however she didn't feel the slightest inclination to back away. What's the worst that could happen?

"No you're not, you're a…"

He cut her off by finally bringing his lips against hers; soft yet insistent at the same time. Leia felt herself respond instantly, naturally, without thought. She parted her lips to allow him better access and marvelled at how good and right it felt. After a few moments Han pulled back ever so slightly, his eyes opening and searching out her own. He was waiting for her shove him off, shout at him, demand of him what the hell he thought he was doing. No such question came.

Instead, without changing expression at all, she said:

"Okay hotshot."

All softness was gone in the next kiss as his desire took over. Han smiled into her mouth and, for the second time that evening, pressed her against the wall. She didn't seem to mind, her hand had wound its way into his hair and was keeping his face against hers. The moment was over far too quickly as an excited voice called out over the music.

"Han! Han, there you are!" Wedge yelled, pushing his way through the crowd.

Leia separated herself from his embrace instantly and walked past Wedge, disappearing back into mass of people without looking at either of them. Han watched her go. He was feeling more confused than ever about the in god's name was going on between them. Wedge, for his part, at least had the decency to look sheepish.

"Sorry bud."

"Don't worry about it." Han sounded like _he_ was definitely worrying about it. "Let's find the others. And Wedge, don't mention this to Luke alright?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me except the mistakes as this is un-beta'd.**

Different Galaxy, Same Old Story

Chapter Two

"Han, my man, where have you been?" Lando inquired as he made his way back to the main area of the bar. "I've been having to keep them entertained all by myself, not that I'm complaining." Lando winked and turned to the two girls from earlier that were sitting at the bar. He gave them a little wave and right on que they both began giggling. "These girls are seriously up for it."

"They're all yours Lando. Knock yourself out."

"What are you talking about?" He followed Han's gaze to Leia who was, at that moment in time, downing two different shots on the dance floor with Winter. "Damn. You got it bad, don't ya brother?"

"Shut up."

"Not that I blame you. That is a serious piece of ass…"

"I said shut up!" Han tore his gaze away from the dancefloor and turned to Lando shoving him away, almost violently. Lando held his hands up in mock surrender.

"Alright, alright. I'll leave you to your hopeless pining. I'll see you later. Well hopefully I won't." He winked once again, before sauntering over to the women at the bar and throwing an arm over each of their shoulders. "Ladies, looks like it's just you and me."

At the same moment Wedge passed Han on his way to join the others and handed him a drink. Han guessed it was an apology for interrupting whatever had been going on earlier; he took it wordlessly and downed it in one swallow, before following Wedge onto the dancefloor.

By this time of night the bar was packed and Han was soon completely surrounded and pushed up against dozens of different people. Leia clocked his arrival before he'd made it to the group and had turned her back to him, continuing to laugh and dance with Winter. She wasn't a bad dancer, Han was thinking to himself as Luke suddenly lurched into his arms and hugged him tightly.

"I love you man." He slurred in Han's ear. Well at least one of them had finally caught up with the squadron boys. Han pushed him away lightly.

"Sure you do."

"I do. You're like the closest thing I have to brother, seriously. This is not just the drink talking. You're such a good guy but like you try to hide it and I don't why you do that. Why do you do that? And I know you like Leia…"

"What?!" Han hissed, interrupting his drunk ramblings. Leia turned slightly at the noise but Winter pulled her back round, whispering something in her ear before throwing her head back in exaggerated laughter. Okay maybe two of them had managed to get caught up with the squadron boys.

"You deny it and you're so mean to her…" Luke was barely stopping for breath now. "It's like the schoolboy thing you know where you push over and pull the hair of the girl you like. That's what you're doing with my sister. But I see the way you look at her when you think no one is watching you."

"Whatever you say Luke."

"I approve of you know. I mean the real, nice you not the cynical asshole thing you do. I approve of you. I think she probably likes you too but you can never really tell with Leia…"

With those drunken words of wisdom Luke turned and walked off to join Wedge and the others a few feet away. This left Han with Leia, Winter and the new boyfriend Tycho. The latter two now entirely wrapped up with one and other once more; grinding against each other as if there was no one else in the room. Han caught Leia's eye and raised his eyebrows slightly in the pair's direction. This Winter really was a lot looser, or perhaps drunker, than he had expected.

Leia's expression remained neutral. She moved to walk past Han and join Luke but a gentle hand on her arm stopped her. His arm encircled her waist, pulling her into him and rubbing soft circles on her back through the thin material of the dress. Han began to move them to the music. His movements were slow, cautious, as if he was waiting for her to shove him off. She didn't. She remained looking up at him with that annoyingly calm stare.

Han dipped his head and kissed the side of her neck. This finally granted him a reaction as she sighed heavily into ear, one hand finding its way into his hair exactly as it had before. It was amazing how intimate and private the middle of a crowded dancefloor could feel. No one was paying them any attention at all and, although still very close by, Han was pretty sure Luke and the other boys couldn't see them clearly through the mass of moving bodies.

Perhaps on the strength of this Han raised his head and leaned forward to kiss her properly. She let him kiss her but initiated nothing of her own. When he opened his eyes and pulled back he found her already looking at him as if she had kept her eyes open and had been studying him throughout the rather tender caress. He also noticed that whilst only a few seconds ago her eyes had been clouded with the effects of alcohol now they were crystal clear. She seemed very suddenly sober.

Leia reached up and ran a hand over his nose and lips before saying in a strong voice:

"Let's get out of here."

/

Han opened the door to his apartment and led her inside. The small open-plan living area was nice if a little messy. He picked up a few items from the floor and threw them on the sofa in an attempt to clear a pathway. The short taxi ride from the bar had been taken in comfortable silence, with Leia leaning against him and his arm wrapped around her. For both of them it had felt oddly natural.

"Your apartment's nice."

"It's a shit hole but I'm hardly ever here." Han appraised. She smiled at his honesty.

At that moment Chewie suddenly became aware of their presence and ran over to them excitedly from his bed in the kitchen. He completely bypassed Han and went to Leia, happily receiving her strokes and words of encouragement. His own encouragement, however, waned quickly as he realised the new visitor was not going to feed or walk him. He sat down at her feet just in case she changed her mind.

"Do you want a drink of anything?"

"No I'm good."

They paused for a moment before both walking towards each other and meeting in the middle. His hands found her face, holding her there as he leaned down to kiss her. The gesture felt intimate, the kiss too was soft and not rushed or heated as he'd come to expect from scenarios such as these.

"I've wanted this for so long." He breathed out against her skin before he realised what he was saying.

He stopped his movements instantly. That was definitely the drink talking. Or more accurately the drink allowing him to talk that way. She didn't respond and he was reminded how much more sober she appeared than him. He needed to get a handle of himself, fast.

She pushed him away from her slowly and for a horrible moment he thought his drunken confession had brought her to her senses and this was all over. Instead she reached for the tie of her wraparound dress and undid it, carefully pulling the dress open and off of her shoulders to reveal a matching set of deep blue, lace underwear. Han could feel his eyes bulge in his head at the sight. He was getting too excited, too quickly, just by looking at her.

"Christ your beautiful." He said once again before realising he had. Leia ducked her head and blushed a little. He knew he was coming on too strong. "Sorry."

"Don't be. You're kind of sweet when you're being sincere."

That was all the encouragement he needed to step forward and touch her exposed skin. He ran his rough, weathered hands over her stomach, marvelling at its softness and noting the involuntary shiver that created within her.

They were both distracted by Chewie padding back over to where they stood and sniffing at Leia's dress on the floor.

"Shall we go somewhere where we don't have an audience?" Han asked, gesturing to a closed door behind him that she assumed was his bedroom. She nodded and Han turned and began to lead her to the room.

"Unless that's what you're in to?" She asked suggestively. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned to look at her.

"Are you?"

She scoffed, shaking her head:

"No, I'm not Winter."

He laughed, tugging more insistently on her hand and pulling her into the bedroom.

/

Leia was gone by the time Han woke the next morning.

He stretched out lazily, finding the other side of the bed empty but still warm, before grabbing the pillow and inhaling strongly, her scent entirely surrounding him. Han groaned into the pillow. How could it be that after finally having sex with her he now wanted to sleep with her even more? He had to admit this was new to him. Normally he was all about the thrill of the chase and lost interest pretty quickly after the prize had been acquired. One of the many reasons Leia thought him a scoundrel.

The sex had been good, great even. Great enough for him to be currently replaying every glorious moment in his head in spite of his alcohol infused memory. But it wasn't great sex that he was craving. It was sex with her, great or any other way, and possibly not even the sex at all. He had it bad.

He was hardly surprised to find her gone. She had tried to leave last night; he'd managed to convince her otherwise after reminding her it was two am and well below freezing outside. He was surprised she had listened to him and stayed then. No, scrap that. He was surprised when she had let him kiss her outside the bathroom at that bar. Anything and everything that had happened after was well beyond surprised and more stunning, disbelieving astonishment.

Han opened his eyes reluctantly, squinting at the sunlight beaming though his partially drawn curtains. He turned over, instantly noticing his phone propped up on the bedside table. Strange. He was pretty sure he didn't think to take it out of his trouser pocket last night. Those trousers had come off pretty quickly too.

He unlocked it and found he had a few new messages. The first from Luke thanking him for making sure Leia got home safely and hoping they hadn't killed each other on the taxi ride home. Han swallowed nervously; his dry mouth suddenly a lot dryer. It pretty much went against every guy code – do not mess around with close family members, especially sisters. Though Luke had given him his drunken approval last night. Han doubted he remembered that.

There were two message from Lando that he didn't even bother opening; knowing the contents of them would be utter bragging of his night's escapades.

The last message was a notification that a new contact had been added to his phonebook. Han frowned. New contact… had he taken the number of one of those girls' Lando was with? He opened the message: _One new contact added. Name: Leia Organa_. Now that was interesting. She'd taken the time on her sneaking her way out this morning to add her number to his phone.

Han clicked the message button and tapped on the case of the phone for a minute whilst thinking of what to say.

H: _Enjoy your walk of shame this morning?_

To his surprise she replied almost straightaway:

L: _How do you know it was this morning? Maybe I left immediately after you passed out last night._

H: _Nice try sweetheart. The bed is still warm and my whole damn room smells of you._

L: _How nice for you._

H: _It really is. Not as nice as the real thing though._

L: _It's not my fault you couldn't drag your ass out of bed to see me off. At least Chewie managed to get up to say goodbye._

H: _I sincerely hope Chewie did not give you the goodbye I had planned for this morning!_

L: _You're gross._

H: _And for the record it is at least partially your fault I was dead to the word this morning. You wore me out princess._

L: _Can't keep up the pace old man? Perhaps I need to trade you in for a younger model._

H: _I think I deserve at least one more test drive before you make up your mind on that. Any ideas when that might be?_

L: _That would be telling. I have work to do now hotshot. Stop trying to distract me._

H: _It's a Saturday!_

L: _We can't all be layabout pilots like you flyboy. Go away!_

H: _Well happy working. Try not to think about me too much._

/

Leia smiled stupidly at her phone as she read the last message. Had she just inadvertently agreed that they would be hooking up again? She certainly hadn't shut down the idea. She hadn't even made a flirty, futile attempt to deny it would happen. And, as good as she was at self-denial when it came to him, even she couldn't lie to herself and pretend she didn't want it to happen again. God, she was getting in over her head.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Winter who came crashing through the door to their office wearing big, bug-eyed sunglasses that covered most of her face and carrying two giant cups of Starbucks coffee.

"Why, oh why, are we having to work on a Saturday morning?!" She moaned dramatically.

"Because we're newly qualified and thus were are at the bottom of the pile and there is no one below us that we can sack this off to."

"You sound too chirpy for my liking." Winter huffed, dropping into the chair at her desk opposite Leia and passing her one of the coffees. The sunglasses stayed on.

"Thanks. Have a good night last night?"

"Yes. And I'm paying for it now. What about you? Where did you go? One minute you were on the dancefloor next to us and the next you'd disappeared. Luke said something about Han making sure you got home safe? He never came back either. He must have gone home after you dropped you off."

"Yeah, must have." Leia replied distractedly, pretending to be very preoccupied with something on her computer.

"Oh my god!" Winter's sudden exclamation made Leia turn to look at her. The sunglasses had finally been removed and the eyes beneath were wide with shock. "You totally slept with him, didn't you?!"

"What?! N…" Leia sighed, defeated. There was really no point in denying this. Winter was like the sex whisperer; she always knew. "How do you do that?"

"Oh come on! The afterglow is literally rolling off of you. And he's the only one you left the bar with. It's not that difficult to figure out!" Leia smiled at her friend's explanation but this only made Winter huff once again this time in frustration. "So…"

"So what?"

"So… how in the hell was it? Give me details. I want to know everything. God this has been such a long time coming."

"It really hasn't."

"Shut up you blind cow!" To this Leia laughed aloud. "All those bedroom eyes and secret smiles whilst you're screaming at each other for no good reason. It's like foreplay for you weirdos."

Leia wanted to be offended but in all honesty Winter had a point. Though the most drawn-out foreplay in the world, almost three years of arguing had certainly got them both hot enough for a wonderful night.

"Leiaaaa…" Winter was almost whining now.

"Okay, okay. Yes, it was good. It was very good. But then it's hardly surprising he knows what he's doing is it? I mean he's certainly had enough practice."

And that was crux of her problem wasn't it. The idea that she was just the latest in a very long and accomplished line of women. Because despite being so confused about her feelings for him beyond the immediate physical ones, she did know that he was more than just latest in her much shorter and less accomplished line of men.

"Just how good are we talking?" Leia looked blank and Winter rolled her eyes at her friend's naivety. "Did you come?" Leia almost spat out her mouthful of coffee. Trust Winter to get straight to the point. Refusing to be the prudish, prim friend, Leia squared her shoulders and nodded, almost defiantly. "More than once?" She nodded again. "More than once on the first night. You know that's not bad at all."

She seemed genuinely impressed and even more ridiculous Leia was quite proud of her approval. Winter was one of the most sexually liberated women she knew and if she was impressed with her sex life then it must be going pretty well.

"Are you going to see him again?"

"I don't know." Leia replied honestly.

"Do you want to?"

"I don't know." She repeated. That was less honest.

"Two orgasms served straight up and you don't know if you want to see him again? Well I certainly will if you don't."

The women considered one and other for a second, neither knowing what to say, until, at the very same moment; they both burst out laughing.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me except the mistakes as this is un-beta'd.**

 **Note: Please note rating for this one (end of chapter). I'm not going to up rating of the whole fic as this is likely the most steamy it will get and it isn't particularly graphic but please be warned if it's not your thing you might want to skip the last section of this chapter. You won't miss anything much plot-wise.**

Different Galaxy, Same Old Story

Chapter Three

"Hey bud." Han greeted Lando with a quick embrace before taking the seat opposite his friend in the greasy-spoon café they had met for breakfast in.

Lando said noting but god did he look smug; about as smug as Han himself felt right about now. He hoped we wasn't walking around with 'I had sex last night' stamped across his forehead as Lando all but did.

"Good night?"

"The best." Lando stated simply. "Of course you would know this if you had bothered to read any of my messages I so thoughtfully send you this morning."

"What can I say there is only so much Lando bedroom bragging I can take before breakfast."

"In that case I'll wait till after."

The pair proceeded to order a lot of black coffee and even more fried food from the bored looking waitress currently on shift. The place they were in certainly wasn't known for its glamour but it had good food and a lot of it and that's about all they both cared about for the time being.

"So are you going to tell me about your night?"

"Not much to tell." Han lied.

He had no desire to inform Lando about developments between himself and Leia. In fact, he had strong desire to keep it from him. If Lando knew then everyone would know. He may not be sure about what exactly Leia was wanting from him, but he knew her well enough to know she wouldn't want whatever this thing was between them to be common knowledge. And, on a side note, if everyone knew then Luke would know. He really wasn't ready for that conversation yet.

"Really? So that wasn't you I saw sneaking away in the back of a cab with what's-her-name, Luke's sister?"

"We shared cab. Nothing else."

"Please!" Lando exclaimed dramatically. "I can practically still smell her pussy on you."

"Knock it off!" Han growled, the amount of menace in his voice surprising even him. The words had been accompanied with hard shove to Lando's right shoulder. If Lando was taken aback by his friend's sudden aggression he didn't show it. He continued in much the same tone:

"What is it with you? That's twice you've almost decked him in less than twelve hours. Han I've said worse things about your mother and you've barely blinked."

"Yeah well what you've said about my mother is probably true."

"And this isn't?" Han said nothing, looking down into his cup of coffee that had been brought over at some point during the exchange.

Why was he finding it so hard to lie about this? Lying was one his limited but pronounced set of skills. Did he want to do a bit of bragging of his own; the kind he knew he would be forced to endure from Lando after they were through with breakfast. Or was it because being with Leia last night had been the most honest he had felt in a very long time and lying about it now would somehow sully that honesty? Though the thought in of itself terrified him, because how the hell could he be feeling anything that strongly after one bloody night, the fact remained for the first time in years he felt as if perhaps he was done running, _perhaps_.

"Hey I'm happy for you man. It sounds to me like you've been chasing that skirt for years and you finally got it. I hope she was worth it. And she is seriously beautiful." Only Lando could make the word beautiful sound so dirty. Han shot him a warning glance to which he held his hands up in surrender. "You seeing her again?"

"That depends on her."

At that same moment Lando's phone sounded loudly on the table in front of them. He unlocked it and read the message, a slow and deliberate smile spreading across his face.

"Well you're seeing her tonight alright."

He told Han, tuning his phone to show him a group message from Luke to most who were present last night, Han and Leia included.

Luke: _Who's up for round two? Tonight at mine. 8pm._

"How do you think the kid's going to react when he finds out you've been giving one to his sister?"

/

Leia had just gotten off of the tube on her way home when she got a message from Han:

H: _I hope you're enjoying your Saturday working. Are you going to Luke's tonight?_

Unfortunately she was. Despite the fact that all she wanted to do after a rotten day at work was to go home and curl under a duvet, watch shitty films and stuff her face with carbs whilst she worked out what in god's name she was going to do about Han. But no, Winter being Winter had all but threatened her with exposure of said situation with said pilot unless she agreed to come tonight.

L: _I haven't been given to option to say no so yes I'll be there. Will you?_

H: _Not if it's going to make you uncomfortable._

Why would he say that? How had they gone from flirty banter to weighty statements in less than two messages? And why was she acting like a thirteen-year-old texting a boy for the first time; deleting and retyping a reply a dozen times before sending?

L: _Why would your presence make me uncomfortable?_

His presence last night certainly had not done that.

H: _I just don't want my devilishly good looks and raw sex appeal to distract you all evening if you want a nice quiet night with your brother._

So they were back to the banter just as quickly as they had left it. This she could handle. This she had three years' worth of experience in.

L: _Whilst you make a valid point I think I'll be able to manage keeping my focus away from you, as hard as that may be._

H: _If you're sure you're up to the challenge._

L: _I'll give it my best shot. Catch you later flyboy._

/

So far, so good. Wedge had appeared minus his three wing men from last night (presumably they were still passed out with their heads in a toilet somewhere) and Tycho already had plans so that left six: Luke, Leia, Winter, Han, Lando and Wedge. The later looked as though he should still be passed out but the lure of takeout food had drawn him from his bed and now, quite frankly, he was regretting the decision.

In spite of the limited numbers Leia had managed to keep her interaction with Han to a minimum. And, in the limited communication they had shared, she had found it surprisingly easy to carry on as if nothing had happened. Han too was playing his part; jostling and joking with her like he always had if perhaps with the addition of subtle affection behind his eyes as he spoke to her. Of course that affection had nearly always been there but Leia was only just noticing it.

This easy atmosphere lasted until the dinner arrived and they all sat round Luke's kitchen table to eat. Four out of the six knew something was going on for definite and had Wedge been less hungover he would have pieced it together too. That just left their host; completely clueless at the head of the table. It was as if everybody had simultaneously realised that fact and then kept shifting intrigued and amused glances between Leia, Han, and Luke respectively.

"What's going on with everybody?!" Luke asked after the silence became uncomfortable. Leia chanced a worried look in Han's direction who was staring down into his food as if it might offer him a way out of this situation, she then caught Winter's knowing smirk.

"We're all hanging out of arses Luke." Winter said eventually. "And we're not all puppies and rainbows when that's the case like you are. And, no offence, we're mainly here for the food."

"And the show." Lando muttered quietly and he and Winter shared a laugh.

"You're all a bunch of lightweights." Luke declared. Han snorted remembering Luke's drunken antics on the dancefloor last night. Now that was the pot calling the kettle black if he ever had heard it. "And half of you went home early." Luke continued, looking at the end of the table that housed Leia, Han and Lando.

"Doesn't mean we were sleeping." Lando grinned.

"Some of us were." Leia cut in a little too eagerly to sound offhand as she had intended.

This time she did manage to catch Han's eye and he raised an eyebrow at her. She couldn't tell if it was supposed to be suggestive; indicative of when they weren't sleeping last night, or if was a teasing mockery of the mess she had just made trying to cover their tracks. Either way it made her blush and look away. She prayed that no one, especially Luke, had seen the silent exchange.

The rest of the meal passed without any more close calls. Sometimes Luke's naivety really was a saving grace. When they had finished each person indulged in a little hair of the dog and settled in the living room to play cards. Wedge fell asleep after the first round of poker, Winter got out pretty early in the second round, having neither the patience nor energy for it tonight, and Han deliberately folded sometime later and excused himself. He made his way to the kitchen for a top up. Watching her play cards so well was doing things to him that it really shouldn't be. Was there anything she couldn't do?

"I'll take a refill." Winter's voice from the kitchen doorway startled him. He took her empty cup and starting refilling it.

"I take it she told you what happened last night?" Han asked his back to her still.

"She didn't have to. I'm not nearly as blind as she is when it comes to the two of you." Han smiled at the truth of that statement and turned to pass Winter her drink. She took a mouthful before going on: "Do you want to see her again?"

Why was everyone asking him that question like it was entirely dependent on what he wanted? Didn't they know Leia at all? To be fair Lando didn't but Winter was her best friend and should know just how Leia is. A blind alien could see the ball was firmly in Leia's court.

Han did his best to shrug nonchalantly. It wasn't a great attempt and caused Winter to burst out laughing.

"My god! How have you ever won any money at poker when your poker face is that shit?!"

He wanted to be offended but he couldn't deny how poor the attempt to hide his true feelings had been. He found himself laughing with her. He liked Winter and he wanted her to like him, if he had her on board then perhaps Leia would be more likely to follow. Though on board for what exactly was a question for another day.

"Can I offer you some advice?" Well at least Winter was behaving the way he wanted. Befriending the friend was never a bad idea. He nodded. "Go slow. I mean really slow. I mean so slow you feel you're not going anywhere, you feel like you're actually going backwards. Any faster and she'll freak and the shutters will slam down. It will feel like hitting your head against a brick wall but I know you know she's worth the wait."

"Why do you want to help me?"

"Because I think you might be good for my friend. And I know she'll be good for you. Of course that being said I will break both of your legs if you hurt her." There wasn't even a hint of jest in her tone.

"Isn't that Luke's line?"

"Oh shall I go and tell him?" Winter smiled at the momentary panic that filled Han's eyes. "Besides I'm way scarier than Luke."

"True." Han agreed.

Winter gave him one last amused grin before turning to leave. At the last minute she swung back round into the room as if she had just remembered her original purpose for entering it.

"Oh and congratulations by the way!" Han continued to stare at her blankly. "Two orgasms on the first night. Bravo. That's got to work in your favour." She glided out of the room leaving him in stunned silence.

/

They crashed through his front door with such force that Chewie came bounding over to them, growling in suspicion. He stopped as soon as he recognised exactly who had disturbed his peaceful sleep. The pair themselves barely noticed him; they were too engrossed in each other.

They'd left Luke's twenty minutes before with Winter in tow. Wedge had still been out for the count on the sofa and Lando was long gone after receiving a message from one of the girls he met the night before. As soon as they'd got outside Winter made her excuses, leaving the pair alone with a warning of 'don't do anything I wouldn't do.' Han had accurately commented to Leia that he suspected that left them with quite a lot of scope, before offering to walk her home (and making sure she understood the proposal was quite decent and that walking her home was really all he meant). She'd rolled her eyes and countered with her own offer to walk _him_ home. The look in her eye telling him her proposal was decidedly indecent.

And that's how they'd ended up here: with her bestowing seemingly endless hungry kisses upon him and pushing him in the direction of his own bedroom. He couldn't believe this was happening again – and so soon – and relatively sober.

If possible it seemed to have upped a level from the night before. Whilst that had been great, Leia herself had seemed not shy exactly but cautious. She'd been more than happy to let Han take control and that had surprised him slightly. And she'd made a point of telling him how much more inexperienced she was then him (how did she know how experienced he was?). He'd asked if she wanted to stop and she'd been adamant in her denial of that, pulling his body flush into hers to prove the point. After that she had seemed to relax into it.

Tonight, however, any sign of caution or shyness was completely gone. She was almost being aggressive in her desire for him and he liked it. It seemed Winter was wrong about taking it slow. Leia was racing ahead and Han was more than happy to try and keep up with her.

"I've been wanting to do this all night." He panted harshly against her neck as he continued to nick at it with his teeth. She moaned and arched into his touch in response. "I can't get you out of my head, it's so fucking annoying."

She seemed to approve of this sentiment and it earnt him a rough stroke to just the right place through the fabric of his jeans. Han threw his head back and groaned. She wasn't going to relinquish control so easily tonight; they would have to battle for dominance. Now this was going to be fun.

He lifted her easily, relishing her slight squeal of surprise. Leia instantly recovered; wrapping her legs around his middle and latching her mouth back onto his. She wasn't about to tell him how much his little show of strength had turned her on. Han walked them into the bedroom and let her down on the bed so she was standing on his mattress. He took advantage of her current height; stripping her of her jeans and then her blouse, planting hot kisses along her stomach as he did so.

Han then flipped her onto her back, removing his own shirt and climbing between her legs which she opened wide in welcome. His kisses continued down her toned abdomen and over the top of her knickers. He sat back on his knees to slide her underwear off completely before throwing it over his shoulder and looking down at her in way that made her stomach spike almost painfully in anticipation. At that moment she couldn't bring herself to even consider if this was a good idea or not. There was no way it wasn't going to happen.

Leia's eyes widened as she sussed his next move. She couldn't contain the loud moan that escaped as she felt his mouth moving against her. After a few moments he pulled back to speak:

"According to Winter I have quite the performance to live up to." She frowned in both frustration and confusion. She really didn't have the focus to work out what he trying to tell her. "Is it normal for women to go into that much detail with their girlfriends?" Han didn't wait for a reply before lowering his mouth to pleasure her once more.

"Mmm…" She groaned distracted. "Don't guys… ah… don't guys… do the same?"

"Not in the same way!" He moved back up her body to give her solid kiss on the lips. She could taste her own want on his tongue. "I'll do my best to render you a repeat performance."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me except the mistakes as this is un-beta'd.**

 **Note: This is a solely H/L chapter and this one gets a little more angsty. But who doesn't love a comforting/cuddling Han?!**

Different Galaxy, Same Old Story

Chapter Four

 _About four weeks later…_

"You arrogant asshole!" Leia all but screeched as she stormed out of his bedroom and started a desperate search for her shoes in order to make a quick exit. She'd been naked in his bed less than two minutes before and by the hastened way her clothes had been thrown on you could tell.

Chewie came running over to her, excited as he always to see her. He took her rummaging through Han's mess as a game and followed her every move with his head in an attempt to join in.

"Arrogant?!" Han demanded as he followed her into his living area dressed only in a pair of boxers. "That's not arrogant sweetheart that's just the truth." Beyond huffing in frustration she ignored him. "I know this whole casual thing is new to you but you've been here practically every night for last four weeks! That ain't casual your highness!"

The added use of that particular nickname gave him the response it always did but this time it was yelled and with much more venom than usual:

"Fuck you!"

"You sleep here, you eat here, you work here. You hang out, you watch movies. Half the time we don't even sleep together but you still stay over!"

As he'd been talking she'd finally located her shoes and bag and shoved them on. She now stood across from him, arms folded, staring absolute daggers in his direction. Despite her aggressive stance something about the way she was looking at him stopped Han's anger dead in its tracks. There was a vulnerability in her face that he was sure she was doing her best to hide. This is what Winter had meant when she said to take it slow. What he was asking of her seemed like the smallest step in the world, so small it wasn't really a step at all but obviously to Leia it was big and scary as hell.

Han placed his hands on his hips and sighed before continuing in a much quieter and softer voice:

"All I'm saying is that none of that is casual. That's a relationship Leia existing solely in the walls of this apartment. I was only suggesting that maybe we try it outside of these walls, to see what happens. It's just a date. A dinner like the dozens we've had here."

"I think you're right." She said eventually, her expression and tone of voice both completely unreadable but Han's eyes widened in surprise at her words. "I do spend too much time here."

"No, that's not what I was saying at all. You know that's not what I meant."

She approached him slowly, extending herself up onto her toes to place a chaste kiss upon his cheek.

"Goodbye Han."

There was no anger left in her voice but there was a certain finality to the way she spoke; as if she was already resigned to the fact that whatever this had been was now over. He couldn't believe how quickly it had all unravelled. Weren't they just stupidly happy and relaxed in his bed a few moments ago?

Leia left the apartment without another word.

/

The fight with Leia had been three days ago. He hadn't heard a single thing from her since. It seemed it really was over as quickly as it had begun. The only form of communication about the whole thing had come in the form of a message from Winter (he wasn't even going to ask how in hell she had his number) which read:

 _You're an idiot. I told you not to fuck it up. How hard is it to take things slow? As you so delicately pointed out she was in your bed nearly every night, what more do you want four weeks in?_

Han didn't reply and the message was soon followed up with:

 _I'm working on her for you. Give me time fuckup._

See, never hurts to befriend the friend. Yet although Winter's intensions were good he very much doubted it would be enough to sway Leia.

Han turned and looked at the empty space next him that had become Leia's side of the bed. It had only been three days and this was fast becoming pathetic. He'd acclimatised so well to having her little body curled up sleeping next him that its absence was actually affecting the quality of his sleep. Hence why he was awake now at two am despite the fact he had be up early for work the next morning.

A soft knock at the door interrupted his drifting thoughts. It was so soft in fact he might have believed he'd imagined it had it not been for Chewie's sudden barking.

He rambled through his apartment, shushing Chewie as he went and wondering, rather irritably, who was at his door at this time of night. Han turned on the light and opened the door to find Leia still dressed in her work clothes and looking mightily agitated.

"Sorry did I wake you?"

"No." Han replied honestly, frowning slightly at just how upset she appeared. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

She shook her head sharply and at the same time her hand covered her mouth as if to stop her saying something. As soon as her head stopped moving she burst into tears. Han was stunned. In all the years he had known her, including the last few weeks in which he had gotten to know in pretty much every way you can know another person, he had never, ever seen her cry, let alone seen the kind of gasping sobs that were currently emanating from her small body.

He stood in shocked silence for a moment before reaching forward and pulling her into him. She offered no protest to this and now he could feel just how violently she was shaking against him.

Leia may have called him arrogant but he was nowhere arrogant enough to think she was this upset over the argument they had had. No, something had happened and he was desperate to know what, desperate to know how to make better, whatever it may be.

"Sorry!" She repeated panting against his chest, her tears soaking his bare skin. "I didn't know where else to go."

"Shhh… It's okay, it's okay. I've got you. You can always come here you know that." That sentiment seemed to make her cry even harder. "Shhh… shhh… come on. Come in."

Han guided her into the apartment, shutting the door as she kept herself pressed up against him. He took her to the sofa and literally peeled her off of him before placing her down.

"I'll get you a drink okay?"

He offered her the glass of water he'd just poured but she didn't take it so he placed it on the table in front of them and took a seat next to her. As soon as he was on the sofa she turned to him; crawling onto his lap and burying her head in the crook of his neck. Han's arms wrapped around her naturally, instinctually, holding her close to him and whispering words he hoped were reassuring.

Leia's tears slowed gradually over time until she was left sniffing and hiccupping into his neck. He pulled back just enough for his lips to find her forehead and he laid a long and gentle kiss there. She titled her face up to receive more of these soft caresses and Han obliged, ending with the tenderest of touches to her lips.

"You gonna tell me what's going on princess?" He whispered against her skin. The calm of his voice instantly relaxing her.

"He told me not to do it." Leia began, making herself more comfortable on his lap, still sniffling slightly. "Luke, he told me not to do it. Said the fact we had found each other, the fact we both had happy and loving childhoods was enough. He said we shouldn't care about two strangers who never wanted us anyway. But _I_ cared. I wanted to know who they were, our birth parents. I wanted to know where I came from."

"That's understandable." Han stated softly.

He'd never asked about their birth parents, or about why they had been separated, or how they had found each other as adults. They were such personal questions, and yes Luke was a great friend of his, but it still didn't seem his place. Also, how the hell do you casually bring something like that up?

"I found out they were married when we were born and that they both died that same year. When I told Luke this he was glad. Said he was wrong before and now we both knew that they probably had wanted us but they'd died and that's why we were separated. He told me to stop digging." Leia paused and he could see the tears begin to fill her eyes again. Han reached forward and ran a soothing thumb across her hairline. "I should have listened!" She cried. "But… And I know this sounds ridiculous considering how fortunate my life has been… but I felt robbed somehow. Them both dying at the same time we were born, it didn't seem fair."

"Again that's totally understandable and natural." Han reassured. Leia took a deep breath, stealing herself for what she was about to say:

"I found out my father was an alcoholic. When he drank he used to get into these crazy, paranoid rages. One time when our mother was eight months pregnant with me and Luke he went out on some huge bender and came back convinced our mother was having an affair with one of his friends and that we were this friend's children and not his. She tried to calm him down and tell him the truth but he _strangled_ her … almost to death and fled."

"Jesus!" Han exclaimed and unconsciously pulled Leia closer to him.

"The stress on the body caused her to go into early labour. She stayed alive just long enough to have me and Luke but she was brain dead, she was gone. When my father found out what had happened he killed himself. He set himself on fire and died." Her voice had gone almost mechanically cold now, as if she were physically unable to process that information.

"Did you tell Luke all of that?"

Leia nodded.

"I wasn't going too but he knew I was still digging and he asked what I'd found. It just sort of all came out. He was so upset Han, and angry. He said I never should have gone looking and he was right"

"None of this is your fault Leia, you know that don't you?"

"But that was my start in life. That's where I came from."

"So? Doesn't make it who you are."

"Doesn't it?"

"Hell no! I was born in some crackden to two addicts that loved dope way more than they ever loved me. Does that mean that's who I am?"

That was the first piece of his past he had ever willingly revealed to her. Leia realised she didn't really know anything about his life before he started working with her brother three years previously. And the way he'd said it so coolly as if it were a fact that held no emotional weight for him. She wondered if she could ever get to that point with the information she had just learnt.

"See, and you thought you were the only one with the fucked up family!" Han teased her and despite it all she laughed. She turned serious again almost immediately, ghosting her fingers over his lips as she said sincerely:

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too."

"And I'm sorry for just turning up here out of the blue. Especially after the way I treated you." Han shook his head.

"It's okay. We don't have to talk about that now."

His words made it clear that they would have to talk about it at some point. He wasn't just going to carry on as if the incident had never happened. Leia might be good at burying her head in the sand when it came to her feelings but it wasn't one of his strong suits. That being said, he certainly wasn't going to make her dredge through all of it tonight, after everything she'd been through already.

Han couldn't blame Luke for his reaction. It must have been a huge shock and he'd clearly not wanted to know about his birth parents for precisely this reason: that they'd find out something horrible they couldn't ignore. However none of that was the fault of what he regarded to be Leia's natural curiosity about where she came from. He was sure she was regretting her decision enough on her own for her and Luke without her brother adding to it.

"Why don't you take a nice, hot shower, I'll find you something to sleep in and we'll go to bed and worry about all of this shit in the morning."

"That sounds good. Perfect actually."

Leia emerged from his bathroom about fifteen minutes later. Her skin was still blotchy and her eyes still swollen from all of the crying, not to mention her throat feeling like she'd just swallowed a cactus, but despite all of this she was beginning to feel a lot more human again.

The living area was empty bar Chewie asleep in his bed and the clothes Han had left for her folded neatly on the coffee table. She changed into his t-shirt and sleep shorts. He'd try to find the smallest things he owned but they still swamped her. She was too exhausted to chastise herself about just how comforting and nice it felt to be in his clothes, surrounded by his smell.

When she entered the bedroom he was sat up in bed scrolling through something on his phone which he put down as soon as he saw her. He smirked a little at just how ridiculous she looked. But it was the kind of ridiculous he could use to seeing very easily.

"Do you want me to sleep on the sofa? I don't mind." He asked.

"No, I don't want that."

She got in under the covers on her side of the bed and snuggled up to him. Han took in the scent of her freshly showered skin, sighing in genuine contentment.

"I missed you."

He realised this was the wrong thing to say as soon as the words had left his mouth. It probably sounded as if he were about to try and take advantage of her painstakingly obvious current vulnerability. To his complete surprise she murmured:

"I missed you too." Leia readjusted her positon so she could look at him. "Thank you Han. Thank you for listening."

"Of course." And then after a short pause. "It's what any casual fuck buddy would do."

To his relief she burst out laughing and then leant forward to kiss him. Despite the shower he could still taste the salt from her tears on her lips. And thank goodness he could because it reminded him of exactly what had led them here, which in turn kept him from getting too distracted by her tongue that was working its way into his mouth and her body pressing insistently into his. Han was only too aware that Leia knew her own mind but there's no way he could sleep with her tonight and not feel he was taking advantage of her in some way.

"Hey," he said, a soft hand on her shoulder easing her away from him, "let's go to sleep sweetheart." She nodded having decided to surrender to the exhaustion creepy its way into every bone in her body.

Han reached up and switched off the lamp engulfing them in quiet darkness.

/

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit I'm so late!" Han exclaimed, bouncing up and down on one foot whilst he tried to hurriedly pull a sock onto the other.

It turns out his feeling that sleeping with her would be taking advantage hadn't extended to this morning in which the want to make up for lost time over the last three days had won out. And they'd certainly made up for it. He was probably going to get fired but he wasn't even sure he particularly cared. It had been more than worth it.

"Here." Leia said tossing him his work boots. He sat down on the edge of his bed and began lacing them up.

"Thanks. God Chewie's going to be so mad that I haven't had time to walk him this morning."

"I can do that."

"Aren't you going into work?" He realised for the first time that she seemed in a lot less of a hurry to be getting ready.

"After all of the weekends I've been pulling for them lately I think they can give me a few hours this morning."

"Okay, thank you." He jumped up and grabbed his bag. "I gotta go." Han walked over to her and kissed her twice, three, four times before finally dragging himself away. "See you later."

"Han…" He whipped back into the room.

"What? You okay? You don't need me to stay with you do you?"

"No." Leia laughed, shaking her head at him. "No I was just going to ask if you were up for Dak's bar on Friday. Thought we could get some drinks after work, maybe dinner?"

"Yeah sure, you wanna invite Luke and Winter and the others?"

"No." She told him nonchalantly and he finally caught on to what she was actually asking him. "If you still want to?"

He answered without needing to think about it:

"Yeah, sounds good to me."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me except the mistakes as this is un-beta'd.**

Different Galaxy, Same Old Story

Chapter Five

"WE LIKE TO DRINK WITH SOLO CAUSE SOLO IS OUR MATE. AND WHEN WE DRINK WITH SOLO HE DOWNS HIS DRINK IN… 8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1!" The raucous group of men that included Luke, Lando, Wedge and Tycho, amongst about a dozen others, all cheered loudly as Han finished his drink in the allotted time period and held up his empty glass in pride.

The group then decided to indulge the birthday boy with a chorus of 'For He's A Jolly Good Fellow'. Apparently this was how you celebrated your thirty-second birthday if you worked for Alliance Piloting. At least, it was how Han Solo was celebrating his.

"It's incredible isn't it?" Winter said to Leia from the other side of Luke's apartment where they stood with their drinks watching the mayhem unfurl.

"Incredibly juvenile maybe." Winter laughed and took a swig of her beer.

"You still haven't told me how it went." When Leia look puzzled Winter rolled her eyes at her friend before continuing, sounding exasperated. "The big date last Friday."

"Oh, that. Yeah it was good. It was nice, very nice."

She didn't add that is was probably the best 'date' (if you can call it that when you've been sleeping with the other person for four weeks) that she had ever been on. It was certainly the most relaxed she'd ever been and she was pretty sure it was the most fun she had ever had as well. She also didn't mention just how guilty she'd been feeling about enjoying it so much and the implications of such feelings.

Winter gave her friend a sideward glance that suggested she'd already guessed all of those things without Leia having said them.

"Did you sleep with him after?"

"Yes."

"Ah! First date. You little slut. And people think I'm easy." It was Leia's turn to roll her eyes.

"That's because you are easy." Winter opened her mouth wide in mock offence.

"I didn't sleep with Tycho on the first date." She countered.

"It wasn't exactly your typical first date was it. I have known him for almost three years, god help me, and…did you really not sleep with Tycho on the first date?"

"No, I held out."

"For how long?"

"Till the second date. Wanted to make sure I really liked him first." Leia burst out laughing before taking a mouthful of her own drink. Now that sounded more like Winter. "But you're right this wasn't your typical first date, wasn't even really a date more like a 'date night' with an already established partner."

"Hardly established." Leia scoffed.

"Well I don't see why not!" Leia opened her mouth to reply but Winter cut her off. "I know what you're going to say… Han Solo: man slut, constant wanderer, will never settle down blah blah blah. It's been four weeks Leia. Have you seen even the hint of another woman in that time? Any hint he's about take off?" Once again Winter gave her no chance to respond. "He's kept to all your little boundaries and rules, kept it a secret from his best friend, accepted some crazy, crying 2am heart to hearts. I don't know what else he can do to prove he's serious about you."

Leia had no retort. Winter was right. Everything in Han's behaviour over the last month seemed to suggest that he was genuinely interested in a relationship with her, that he was genuinely interested in sticking around. But that was problem, in that Han himself had never really been the problem in the first place, Leia had just used his sometimes questionable character as the perfect excuse. The problem was, and had always been, her. Or more accurately in the innate emotional being within her that seemed petrified of an established and serious relationship with anybody.

"You're right." Leia said quietly, after a long pause.

"Well right or not I think you better go look after your man." Winter said in a much louder voice and gesturing to Han who was currently staggering in the direction of the kitchen, a hand pressed over his mouth to stop him gagging.

"Will you keep your voice down?!" Leia hissed.

Her warning was pointless; Winter had already wandered off to wrap herself around Tycho. Leia smiled wryly to herself; something told her Winter had more than made up for not putting out on the first date.

Leia found Han in the kitchen bending over the sink with his hands pressed into the counter top.

"You okay?" He jumped and turned at the sound of her voice but smiled instantly when he saw it was her.

"I think that last drink may have been a mistake." He told her grimly, running a hand over his stomach.

"Really? I think the mistake was trying to down it in eight seconds."

"Tried?!" He sounded outraged. "I succeeded, practically had a second to spare."

She gave him an amused smile and then, after checking behind her to make sure they weren't about to be interrupted, she approached him, reaching up on her tiptoes and whispering seductively:

"I want you to know… if you throw up later I'm not looking after you."

"Hmm…" He hummed in pleasure at her close proximity. Keeping his hands off of her in public when he'd been drinking (read at any time drinking or not) was quite the chore for him. "Does that mean you're coming home with me tonight?"

"If you're lucky."

"It _is_ my birthday."

"True. Happy birthday old man."

She reached up to kiss him, his hands instantly finding her waist and drawing her whole body against his. Her own arms wrapped around his neck, bringing his face closer so she didn't have to strain quite so much to reach him. After a few moments, Leia pulled back, a strange look on her face.

"You taste gross." She told him matter-of-factly, referring to sickly sweet taste of whatever the hell he had just downed in eight seconds.

"Well you taste great." Han kissed her again, harder this time. She pulled back to look over her shoulder finding that fortunately, for her, they were still alone.

"Not here."

He looked a little hurt and Leia remembered Winter's words from a few moments before. She really wasn't treating him very fairly. But then again Luke still didn't know about them and she certainly didn't want him finding out this way, particularly as they had only just made up about the whole biological parents thing. She ran her hand over his cheek and spoke softly:

"You're just going to have to wait hotshot. If you're a good boy I'll give you your present later when we get home."

She winced at a little at how that made it sound as if they shared a home. Though with the amount of time she spend at his they practically did. If Han noticed her slip of the tongue he didn't mention it, he was too busy raising his eyebrows at her in genuine intrigue.

"What d'ya get me?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." He nodded earnestly and Leia laughed a little before continuing in the same playful tone of voice: "I'll give you a hint… I'm currently wearing it." His eyes immediately began boring into the little party dress she wore, staring at her so intently like he really did have laser vision that could reveal to him what lay beneath.

"There you are!" The sound of Luke's excited exclamation made the pair jump apart at once. As always Luke appeared completely oblivious and ploughed on with his own train of thought. "I thought I'd better come and make sure you weren't throwing up somewhere in my nice, new apartment."

"That's exactly what I was doing." Leia said, trying her best not to sound flustered at almost being caught. Technically that wasn't a lie either.

Luke studied her carefully for a moment as if only just realising she was there and as consequence realising that she must be the person that had been pressing Han into the sink when he'd first entered the room. After a moment he cracked a huge smile and began shaking his head at himself as if he couldn't believe what he's own brain might have just been considering. Han didn't know whether to be relived or insulted. Was the idea of him and Leia so unlikely that anyone who contemplates it is deserving of ridicule even from themselves?

"Well thanks to both of you…" Han said harshly, suddenly and irrationally angry at both siblings. "But as you can see I'm perfectly fine without a babysitter."

A silence followed that wasn't entirely comfortable.

"Seeing as how both of you have been drinking…" Leia began to make her way towards the door. "I'm going to go before this inevitably turns into some bromance bonding love thing." She caught Han's eye, he still looked pissed. Even Luke hadn't laughed at her little (entirely accurate) joke. "See you later."

Once Leia had left the room Luke approached Han slowly, warily almost. He couldn't think what would've been making his friend so grumpy on his own birthday. It hadn't looked or sounded like he'd just walked in on one their infamous arguments, actually it looked like something else entirely but Luke was blaming all the drink he had consumed for that. And even if they had been arguing Han was usually in a much better mood after that then he currently was.

"Was she getting to you?" Luke asked. Han didn't answer but he looked at his friend with clear confusion plastered across his face. Luke elaborated: "Leia. Was she having a go or something?"

"Oh. No. No, she was checking to see if I was alright." _Amongst other things that I'm not allowed to tell you_. Han finished bitterly in his own head.

"Okay. Well, whilst we're on the subject I did want to talk to you about Leia actually." Han began staring at him in mild panic. He really didn't want to have this conversation on his birthday, with a house full of people, and without Leia present.

"Oh yeah?" He tried to sound casual but from the strange look Luke was now giving him he hadn't pulled it off.

"I wanted to thank you actually." Han raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I've noticed that you've really been laying off of her since I asked you to a few weeks ago. You're almost being nice." Han inwardly grimaced at his choice of words. He had been doing a lot of laying where Leia was concerned for the last four weeks. "She seems happier, generally you know. I mean… apart from the whole birth parents thing…" Luke trailed off suddenly looking thoughtful and Han jumped at the change of subject, regardless of its sombre nature.

"That's a hell of a tough break to catch kid." He said sincerely and Luke nodded.

"I stand by what I said before though. We're lucky to have found each other. And we're lucky to have both had good adoptive families. I don't want to think about the other stuff, nothing good can come of it."

"To be fair I don't think Leia _wants_ to think about it either, she just has a harder time shutting it all out than you do. Not that I'm saying you have it easy." He added quickly on the end. He certainly didn't envy Leia or Luke when it came to dealing with such a heavy past, and he had quite a lot experience with heavy pasts himself.

"Have you spoken to her about it then?" Luke sounded genuinely surprised.

"Err… A little." _(A lot)._ "I told her about some stuff with my parents. I thought it might help her to see that where you came from isn't where you're going or who you are."

"Wow."

Luke knew how much Han didn't like talking about his past like that. Especially about his parents. As far as Luke could tell he was one of the only ones that knew the whole story. That he had told Leia, in spite of their tumultuous relationship, to try and help her deal with this truly touched Luke. It was yet another example of what a decent person his best friend really was and not the sarcastic, uncaring asshole that he tried so hard to portray most of the time.

"Thank you." Luke repeated after a moment's silence. "Thank you for trying to help her out. It really means something to me that you're looking after Leia."

"OH! OH! OH!" Both Han and Luke turned to see a very intoxicated Lando propped up against the doorframe of the kitchen. "He's been looking after her alright!" Lando accompanied the exclamation with a dramatic finger point in Han's direction.

"Hey Lando." Luke greeted, turning to share an amused smile with Han. Han was looking the furthest thing from amused though. He really was grumpy tonight.

"I can't believe you finally told him." Lando said and at once Han sprang into action, walking over to him, trying to usher him out of the door. But Lando wouldn't go quietly. "And I can't believe YOU…" He fought free of Han's hold and turned to Luke. "You look so freaking chill about it."

"About what? What are you talking about Lando?" Luke asked, still looking highly entertained, if not a little confused, at the whole situation.

"That is not the way I would be looking if someone had just told me that Han Solo was fucking my sister!"

At once everything in the room stopped. It became unnaturally quiet; even the noise from the continuing party in the next room wasn't enough to break the unbelievable amount of stillness and tension that hung tangibly in the air. Luke's wide-eyed stare was burning into the back of Han's head. Lando breezed past Luke and opened his fridge as if nothing had just occurred.

"What?!" Luke said at last, a mixture of disbelief and astonishment evident in his voice.

"Lu…" Han began but had no idea how to continue. It was one thing not telling Luke something he really should have but he couldn't lie straight to the face of his best friend.

"Is that true? Have you slept with Leia?"

"Yep!" Lando piped up, his head still in the fridge. "Not just once either… A lot… Like really a lot… An impressive amount…"

"Let me explain." Han said turning to face the room and cutting off Lando's babbling, sending a deathly stare in his direction.

"That's why you've been being so nice to her?! Because you're fucking her?!" Luke demanded, his voice raised to a shouting level. Han couldn't recall ever seeing his friend this angry. He'd always been so calm and docile even. Now he looked set to kill him. "What the actual fuck Han! This isn't some random girl you picked up at Dak's bar, this is my sister!"

By now a small group of people had gathered at the kitchen doorway, obviously having heard the raised voices and come to see what was happening. Leia and Winter stood at the front of the group.

"What's going on?" Leia asked innocently enough but the sight of his sister appeared to spur Luke's anger on. He turned back to Han, the rage literally rolling off of him until he was shaking with the effort of trying to contain it.

"How long has this been going on?! And why the hell does this prick know?!"

Luke yelled indicating to Lando whose head was still in the fridge. God alone knew what he was doing in there for all this time. He could be throwing up or something, he was certainly drunk enough. Han almost wished he was and that'd choke on it for all the trouble he had caused.

"Does everyone else know?! Am I the last idiot to find out?!" Luke continued his not so little tirade.

"Oooh, looks like it's finally show time." Winter commented quietly to Leia, as it became obvious to the both of them exactly what Luke was referring to. She then turned to the group of people and began shooing them away. "Come on, get out, get out, we don't need to be here for this. You too Calrissian…" Lando remained where he was. Winter stormed over to him, grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the door. "I take it this is all your handy work? So the least you can do is leave them alone to sort it out." Winter dragged a very confused looking Lando out of the kitchen leaving the three of them alone.

"Luke, let me explain…" Leia began immediately.

"You know he's using you right?" Luke cut her off.

"Oh thanks very much, pal!" Han replied. He understood this was not a nice thing to be blindsided about but Luke didn't need to make it so personal. Apparently Luke hadn't got that memo and continued in the same vein:

"He's never serious about anyone! He will end up hurting you."

"It's not like that. I'm a big girl and I know what I'm doing. We should have told you. That's my fault. We didn't want to upset you over something so… something…" Leia trailed off, unsure of how to finish that sentence. Both Luke and Han were looking at her with a great deal of expectation. When it became clear she wasn't going to continue, Luke jumped in again:

"If it's not like that then what is it like? Are you two serious? Are you properly together?"

Han was looking at Leia with such intensity, obviously extremely interested to hear her answer to those questions. Leia felt like screaming. The amount of pressure was building and building inside of her and she was sure she was about to blow. Eventually she answered in a quiet voice, her head bowed to avoid both sets of eyes boring into her:

"No."

She couldn't do it. She just couldn't do it.

"Unbelievable." Han muttered, loud enough for the other two to hear. When Leia chanced a look to Han she saw his eyes ablaze with both fury and hurt. He turned to walk to out.

"Han, wait!" Leia called after him. Han came back into the room, his anger now advancing on her so much she took an instinctive step backwards:

"No! Damn it Leia what do I have to do?! What do I have to do to prove to you I'm worth taking the risk?!" She didn't respond and Han threw his arms up in exasperation. "You know what Luke you've got nothing to worry about. It was nothing and it's certainly nothing now because we're done… Whatever the hell this was is over."

With that Han stormed out. Leia looked over to Luke who appeared almost shell-shocked but not nearly so angry anymore. She said nothing more to her brother instead rushing from the room to chase after Han. He was already out of the apartment and half way down the stairs and Leia struggled to catch up to him due to the big strides he took with his long legs. She followed him out into the cold night where she did finally catch up to him on the pavement outside of the apartment block.

"Han please wait, please listen to me!"

She was gasping; out of breath from both the running and crying she hadn't even realised she was doing. It must have started at the top of the stairs and had grown to an almost sobbing now. This was so _not_ how she had wanted this evening to plan out. She had pissed off her brother, again, and now she might have pissed off Han for the last time. He stopped walking and turned to look at her.

"I'm not angry. I'm just done." He sounded heartbroken and her own chest constricted because of it. "I don't think I can do this anymore… Everyone is so convinced I'm going to hurt you well I'm doing everything in my power not too… but you're hurting me… Goodbye Leia." He turned to leave once more, stepping out into the empty road.

The words came out of Leia's mouth before she could stop them, before she had time to even think about them:

"I love you!"

Han turned back around to look at her; his face still holding the same look of despair it had done before. In that moment she knew the words alone were not enough.

"I know." He told her simply, sadly.

Han took two more steps backwards further into road. The car came out of nowhere; they both saw the sudden bright shine of the headlights but it was too late to do anything. The vehicle slammed into side of him, knocking him to the floor with a deafening thud.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me except the mistakes as this is un-beta'd.**

 **Note: Please note I am in no way knowledgeable about any medical stuff so the ailments/treatments in this chapter probably make no sense whatsoever. But, hey, artistic licence and all that…**

Different Galaxy, Same Old Story

Chapter Six

Luke walked quickly through the white, sterile corridors of the hospital, two steaming cups of coffee in his hands. It had been one crazy night. Just when he thought that the revelation of his sister and his best friend was going to be the most shocking thing he would encounter for, well maybe ever, things had taken a much more shocking, and terrible, turn.

He found Leia exactly as he had left her; hunched forward on an uncomfortable plastic chair in the abandoned corridor. Han's blood was all over her, covering the majority of her dress and coating her hands entirely crimson. And she was shaking. Shaking so violently Luke was surprised she hadn't fallen off of the chair.

"Here." He said softly, setting the cups on the floor, shrugging off his jacket and placing it over her trembling shoulders.

"Any news?" She asked.

"He's still in surgery."

"They're not going to tell us even when there is news. We're not family." Luke thought that Leia had probably meant that to sound angry but she was too exhausted to portray anything except the bone-deep weariness she so obviously felt.

"Well we're the only family he's got." Luke countered, sounding equally dismayed.

He realised that was the wrong thing to say as soon as the words had left his mouth. At once Leia broke down into uncontrollable sobs; the kind of crying he had never seen from her, or possibly from anyone, before. He wrapped his arms around her to try and comfort her. That only made her cry more. She couldn't help but think how much more she would rather have Han's arms around her.

"It's all my fault!" Leia cried. She cut Luke off before he even had the chance to refute that. "It is! We were arguing in the road. I distracted him. He's going to die and it's all my fault!"

"Shh… Leia don't say that, don't even think that." Luke was rocking her back and forth like a child now but it didn't seem to making much difference. "You heard what the paramedic said – you saved his life by giving him CPR. He's alive because of you."

He wiped at the small stain of blood that graced the corner of her mouth; very tangible proof of her effort to put oxygen back into Han's lungs. Leia drew away slightly to look her brother in eye, she took a shuddering breath in an attempt to calm herself and said:

"I think I love him."

Luke smiled, though it did not quite reach his sad eyes.

"Yeah. I figured you probably did. I know my little outburst in the kitchen earlier didn't seem like it but I guessed you two had feelings for each other a long time ago. Probably way before either of you had realised it." He paused, frowning slightly. "It just wasn't the nicest way to find out. I guess I was a little hurt neither of you trusted me enough to tell me."

"Han wanted too." Leia defended at once. "He wanted to be honest from the start. I didn't think there was any point telling you as it was sure to be over soon enough. But then I couldn't bring myself to stop… every time I swore it was the last time. I didn't want to feel this way… I just couldn't stop. It was fault. It was all my fault."

The last sentiment brought on a fresh wave of tears. Luke drew her into him again, trying his best to sound forceful:

"Stop it Leia. What good is you tearing yourself apart with guilt going to do? It isn't going to help Han."

He was trying to be cruel to be kind. He knew logically what he was saying was true but he also understood why Leia was feeling so guilty. He was feeling pretty guilty himself. If he had reacted differently to finding out about them this whole mess could have been avoided.

Luke became aware of approaching footsteps and looked up to see Winter walking towards them. Tycho was with her, he had his arm around her shoulder, they both looked utterly shell-shocked. Winter made a beeline for Leia, sitting the other side of her and drawing her crying friend into a fierce embrace immediately. Luke stood and Tycho offered him a genuine, if not slightly awkward, hug.

"We got everyone out of the apartment." Winter told Luke. She still had her arms around Leia. "Lando's passed out on your bed. Wedge is going to stay with him and tell him what's happened as soon as he wakes up." Luke nodded in both understanding and gratitude. "I take it there's no news?"

As if by answer to her question a doctor, still dressed in medical scrubs, approached the small group. Luke leapt forward, eager for any news but Leia seemed to shrink more into Winter's embrace, as if she were too terrified to hear what the doctor had to say.

"What's going on?" Luke asked, almost aggressively.

"Mr Skywalker?" The female doctor inquired. Luke nodded. "Mr. Solo's condition is very serious. Normally I would only give out the details of his current state to his next of kin." Luke made to interrupt her but the doctor held up her hand, effectively silencing him. "But it would appear Mr. Solo doesn't actually have a next of kin listed. He does, however, list you Mr. Skywalker as his emergency contact. Therefore, I am willing to discuss Mr Solo's condition with you. You alone." She added, briefly looking at the rest of the group.

"Please tell Leia too." Luke said indicating to his sister. "She was with Han when it happened, she saved his life. She's his girlfriend. And I'm only going to come out and tell her everything you've told me anyway."

It was the first time Leia had ever heard anyone refer to her as Han's girlfriend. Usually the thought of this alone was enough to make her break out in a cold sweat of panic. But now she found it produced an entirely different feeling. Like it was a fact she was finally ready to accept, to stand up and own.

"Please tell me." Leia said from Winter's shoulder.

She could hear how pathetic she sounded and knew how traumatised she must look, covered in her lover's blood. Perhaps because of this the doctor nodded and led both her and Luke into an empty, adjoining room.

The three of them took a seat, the doctor sitting opposite Luke and Leia. As soon as they were seated Luke reached out to grab Leia's hand. She felt him squeeze it in reassurance. For the first time since it had happened she thanked a God she didn't believe in that her brother was right there beside her.

"As I said before Mr Solo's condition is very serious." The doctor began. "The impact from the car caused some severe internal bleeding as well as a punctured right lung and several broken ribs. The surgery was successful in repairing his lung as much as possible and we have managed to stop the bleeding."

Leia heard Luke sigh in relief from beside her before saying:

"Well that's good isn't it?" The doctor smiled gently before continuing:

"Our main concern now is Mr Solo's head injury. He hit his head on the pavement with such force it has caused an immense amount of trauma to the brain. We are waiting for the result of an MRI we performed which should show us if there is any bleeding on the brain. Even if this comes back negative head injuries are tricky things…"

"What are you saying?" Leia asked.

"I'm saying that there really isn't any way of knowing the extent of the damage until Mr Solo recovers consciousness."

"Which should be when the anaesthetic from the surgery wears off, right?" Inquired Luke.

"Again we're not entirely sure. I'm sorry. I know it's frustrating but the head injury may cause him to be unconscious for longer than usual."

"And when he does wakeup you're saying he what? ...could be brain damaged?" Leia asked. Luke turned to look at her, shock clear on his face. He hadn't even considered that.

"It is a possibility. The brain runs everything so an injury to it can cause problems to lot of different things – speech, language, memory, movement, sight. As I say there really is no way of knowing until he wakes up."

Luke sat in stunned silence. Leia seemed to have processed the information already. He supposed as she had been completely convincing herself that he was going to die even this was good news to her. But all the things the doctor had listed that could be damaged now. There was a good chance that when Han woke up he was no longer going to be the Han any of them knew. Luke couldn't help but feel as if he had just lost his best friend.

"Can we see him?" Leia asked, sounding more energised than she had done since the paramedics had arrived and taken over.

The doctor seemed to consider this for a moment before eventually replying:

"Alright. But only for a minute. Mr Solo needs time to recover from the surgery and you two need to go home and try and get some sleep. You'll be no use to him half dead yourselves."

Han looked remarkably okay when Luke and Leia were let in to see him a moment later. It was almost as if everything the doctor had just told them had been some kind of elaborate joke. They had cleaned all of the blood from skin and put him in a fresh hospital gown. Bar the small tube inserted into his right side, presumably to drain any excess liquid from his damaged lung, he looked unscathed. But Luke knew how wrong that was.

The twins stood in the doorway, hand in hand, though at this point it was entirely unclear exactly who was comforting who. Luke felt Leia pull away from him to approach Han's bedside. She brushed away the hair on his forehead and placed a gentle kiss there as if her touch could somehow heal all the hurt inside of him.

"Hey there hotshot." She whispered to him, her voice weighed down by fresh tears. "You have to wake up soon okay? You have a lot of gloating to do. You told me I wouldn't be able to resist you forever. Well you were right."

Luke half expected him to jump awake and laugh in triumph over the pure unlikelihood of Leia actually saying those words. Han remained deathly still.

"I'm done trying to resist you… I'm yours." Leia swallowed heavily to stop herself from losing it completely again. Luke felt as if he were intruding on a very private moment which was stupid considering Leia was his sister and Han probably couldn't even hear them right now. "I'm all yours, if you'll still have me, and you have to wake up soon so I can tell you that. And then you can piss me off with your smugness till kingdom come. Deal?"

Of course the question remained unanswered. Leia placed another kiss against his head and turned back to Luke.

/

 _Three days later…_

Leia stared intently at phone as if the object itself would tell her the right thing to do. Every few seconds she would glance up to the phone's owner – her still unconscious … what exactly? Lover… former lover… boyfriend…? They weren't exactly on clear terms when he'd been hit by that speeding car. In fact he was breaking up with her and she was finally claiming her true feelings. Now he was going to out of it for god knows how long and she was doomed to remain uncertain.

His conditioned hadn't changed in the last three days. The surgery had continued to prove a success, his body was slowly healing itself. The MRI showed no obvious sign of bleeding to the brain but there was a hell of a lot of bruising which apparently confused everything. He'd shown no sign of waking up.

Leia looked back down at the phone. She wished Luke was still there, even though he had been disagreeing with her. She'd found the number for Han's mother stored in his contacts yesterday. Luke had said immediately that they shouldn't call her, given the strained nature of Han's relationship with her. Leia allowed that Luke did know more about this than her but she couldn't believe any relationship could be so strained that this woman didn't deserve to know her son was in a coma.

She wanted desperately to do the right thing by Han. It was the very least she could offer after everything that had happened. The problem was she had absolutely no idea what the right thing to do was.

After looking back up to Han's sleeping, peaceful face Leia hit the call button. When in doubt do something. Isn't that what her father, Bail, was always telling her? More often than not people regret doing nothing more than they regret doing something, even if it's the wrong thing. Christ, she hoped that was right.

The phone rang and rang. Just as Leia was beginning to accept she wouldn't answer a strong, raspy voice suddenly sounded on the other end of the line:

"Yes?"

"Oh hello… erm… is that… Mrs Solo?" Leia asked in an uncertain voice. She had no idea what her first name was, or if she had ever been a Solo, or if Solo was Han's father's name. Perhaps this was a bad idea.

"I used to be." The gruff voice sounded amused.

"You're Han's mother?" Leia tried again.

"Fuck, what has he done now?" All trace of amusement was gone. Now she sounded somewhere between pissed off and completely bored with the conversation already.

"Well… I'm sorry to have to tell you this… he… err… he's been in an accident. He was hit by a car a few days ago. He's…"

"Is he dead?"

Leia felt instantly revolted; both by the very idea of it and by the way this woman could say the words with such little feeling, as if the answer would not affect her in the slightest.

"No, no he's not dead. He was badly injured, he's still unconscious and we don't know the extent of the damage yet." After a pause she added in a deliberately condescending voice, "It's very serious." If she had to spell it out to this woman like she were a child then she bloody well would.

"Who are you?"

The question spat out of her mouth hit Leia like a physical blow. She had no doubt it was supposed to feel that way and it had worked. Because… who was she to Han? She just didn't know.

"My name is Leia. I'm a… friend of Han's." She hoped that, if nothing else, still stood true.

"You sound like a young, pretty little thing." Leia could picture the sneer on the older woman's face. "Are you pretty Leia?"

"I… I don't really know." Han's mother gave a laugh that soon turned into a harsh cough.

"That means yes. You sound much too young and much too pretty to be getting yourself involved with Han." Leia had no idea how to take that. Was she warning her? Trying to scare her off? For the life of her she could not work out this woman's motive. "Do me a favour Leia…"

"Okay…"

"Don't contact me again."

"I just thought you might like to know that your son was seriously injured, that he very nearly did die! What kind of mother are you?!" Leia exclaimed in a loud voice.

She chanced a guilty glance to Han's still sleeping form before remembering that she didn't need to keep her voice down and that they very much wanted him to wake up. If her yelling down the phone to his mother was what it took to achieve that then so be it – she would shout until her own voice was as hoarse as the years of substance abuse had made his mother's.

"You know they took him from me when he was just a boy." It was the most genuine and sad the woman had sounded the whole time. Leia couldn't bring herself to feel a shred of sympathy for anyone but Han in that situation. "They never brought him back. He was never my son, not really." Leia heard her breath heavily before saying: "I mean it – don't call me again." With that the line went dead.

For the umpteenth time in the last few days Leia felt herself begin to cry. She knew she had never cried so much about anything, for anyone her whole life. She was surprised her body had not completely run dry by this point.

Luke had been right. She should never have called. This woman had clearly given up on her son the moment he had been taken from her. She had never tried to get him back, never once considered quitting the reason he had been taken in the first place.

At once Leia understood why her own tendency to give up on her and Han's 'relationship' had hurt him so much. Leia had proved consistently that her initial reaction to anything that had taken her even slightly out of her comfort zone was to walk away. That was what people had been doing to Han his whole life.

Leia's behaviour had shown Han exactly the same thing his mother's had – that he wasn't worth sticking around for, fighting for. No wonder he never stayed in one place for long. He always left before giving anyone else the chance to do the same to him. Yet for some reason he had let Leia walk away and come back again, more than once.

With one phone call Han Solo was suddenly making a lot more sense to her. He was also breaking her heart anew.

Leia wiped aimlessly at the tears on her face and approached Han's bedside. The bed was wide and big enough for her to fit her small body next his. She sat next to his left, less damaged, side and rested her head against his shoulder.

"I'm sorry." She sniffled against the hospital gown. She'd been repeating that phrase to him like mantra for the last three days. "I promise I'm not going anywhere. Conscious or not – you're stuck with me now."


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me except the mistakes as this is un-beta'd.**

 **Note: Again all the medical stuff in this chapter probably complete bogus… let's just go with it because we all want a happy ending right?! One more chapter to go after this.**

Different Galaxy, Same Old Story

Chapter Seven

 _Six months later…_

"Well?" Marian asked expectantly as she saw Leia enter the hospital ward that evening. Leia bit her lip for a moment trying to contain her full and genuine happiness, the first she had allowed herself to feel in months, before finally nodded slowly.

"I got it."

"I knew it!" Marian exclaimed throwing her arms wide and pulling Leia into a big, comforting hug. "I knew you would. You clever thing."

Leia knew it spoke volumes about her choice of existence in the last six months that nurses like Marian knew more about what was going on in her life then a lot of her friends and family did.

Today being a prime example. Today had been the day Leia had found out whether or not she would be taken on as a fully-qualified lawyer at the Human Rights Law firm she had been a trainee at for the last few years. She had. Both she and Winter had been taken on. The difference being that Winter was currently out celebrating her deserved success and Leia was here – in the near-silent coma ward.

Leia understood the opinions of those around her, the ones that thought she was wasting her life sitting by the bedside of a man who may never wake up. She'd certainly had enough arguments with her parents that went along such lines. She understood but she didn't agree. Even Luke, who was here often enough himself, had tried to speak to her about having a life outside of this place and still being devoted to Han. The thing was she didn't think she could do both. And given the choice, Han always won.

"Shouldn't you be out celebrating?" Marian's question interrupted her musings.

"Maybe later." They both knew this meant no. "I wanted to see him first."

Leia entered the room and found him exactly as she had found him every day for the last six months. She still couldn't get over how peaceful he looked; like he'd just dozed off and forgotten to wake up for the last half a year.

"Hey flyboy." She told him softly, dropping her bag onto the chair beside his bed and planting a firm kiss to his cheek. She ran a hand over his newly shaved face. That had been her task yesterday evening and quite frankly she'd done a bad job as the patchy pieces of hair were currently testifying to.

"Hi Leia."

The unexpected voice made Leia jump. She turned to see Lando, hanging back at the far end of the room, looking mighty uncomfortable to there.

Of all of Han's friends Lando had been the one to most keep his distance whilst the pilot had been laid up here. Luke came a few times a week. Wedge and a couple of the other Squadron boys popped in from time to time. Even Winter came quite frequently, though Leia knew that was more to see her than Han.

Luke had said something about Lando hating hospitals. His mother had died when he was young, that's how he'd found himself in the same children's home as Han, apparently he'd spend a lot of his childhood in medical facilities like this before she passed. Luke had told Leia he didn't really know the whole story. She supposed nobody did except Han and he was not very likely to spill the beans anytime soon.

Still, the fact that Lando was here at all, despite his obvious discomfort, meant something to Leia.

She walked over to him and embraced him fiercely.

"It's so good to see you Lando."

"Yeah you too. I'm sorry I haven't been around here much."

"It's okay. I haven't been anywhere but here much so that's probably why we haven't ran into each other." Leia meant that to sound light-hearted. She could tell Lando had not taken it that way.

"I don't get how you do it." He told her quietly. "How you sit here day after day not knowing if…" He obviously couldn't bear to finish that sentence.

"I have to."

"Han wouldn't want you wasting your life like that."

This made Leia instantly angry. She took a step back from, folding her arms across her chest defensively. Had he finally showed up here, after all this time, just to chastise and judge her life choices as everyone else seemed to be doing recently? How dare he.

"I'm not wasting my life. It's only been six months. _I_ haven't given up on him yet." She intended her last remark to be biting and could tell it had worked.

"How long do you think you can say that for? It's only been six months. It's only been a year… two years… five years…"

"If you're so convinced he isn't going to wake up why are you even here?!" Leia was shouting now.

"Because he's my mate and I love him." Lando replied sincerely.

She felt suddenly guilty at having suggested otherwise. Of course he loved Han. She knew that. She knew she wasn't the only this was hard for.

"I know you feel guilty. That you think this is your fault." Leia couldn't meet his eyes now. "I get that. I feel guilty too. If I hadn't opened my fat mouth to Luke you guys would never have argued, never left the party and been standing in that stupid street." Despite all of her anger, Leia had never once blamed Lando for any of this. It was always going to come out somehow. "I feel guilty, you feel guilty, Luke feels guilty. When does it stop? The only one at fault here is that stupid drunk driver who was going twice the speed limit and three times over the alcohol driving limit. That's why he's in prison now where he belongs. But it's like you've put yourself in prison too."

Lando moved passed Leia towards the door, noticing as he went that there were tears in her eyes she was refusing to let fall.

"I'm sorry Leia. I didn't come here to fight with you." She didn't reply but acknowledged the apology with a slight nod of the head. "I've known Han a long time. I know he wouldn't want this life for you."

Leia couldn't remember ever having such a long conversation with Lando just the two of them. And certainly not one in which he was being entirely serious. Or more accurately; one where he wasn't trying to take her to bed. She saw for the first time that he was very similar to Han in a lot of ways. Underneath all the swagger and the bullshit there was decent person being desperately concealed.

As Lando reached the door he turned back towards her.

"He loved you, you know. The way he used to look at you, talk about you. He loved you."

With that Lando left. She knew those words were said to try and bring her some comfort but they didn't. She couldn't help but focus Lando's use of the past tense. _Loved you._ He had already given on Han ever waking up. And after six long months, she wasn't entirely sure she could blame him for that either.

/

 _The next day…_

Leia was buried up to her elbows in her current case notes when her phone suddenly sounded. Winter looked up from her desk opposite with a slightly intrigued expression. No one ever really rang Leia's personal phone these days, except Winter or Luke. Seeing as how Winter was sitting opposite her and Luke knew better then to disturb her at work she had no clue who it could be.

Leia at last found the phone in the endless piles of paper. Her face instantly paled as she recognised the number.

"What is it?" Winter asked, concerned.

"The hospital." They had never rang her before. As she was neither Han's next of kin or emergency contact she hadn't ever expected them to. Besides there hadn't been anything to say to for a long time.

"Answer it then!"

Leia took a long breath and hit the accept button.

"Hello?"

"Leia?" She recognised Marian's voice on the other end of the line.

"Yes… what is it? Has something happened?" Leia could hear the panic in her own voice.

"Yes my love."

"Oh god!" At once she was crying. She just knew it was going to be bad news. That they were going to tell her he had died. That he had finally given up. Slipped away whilst she hadn't even been there to say goodbye.

"Han started to show signs of consciousness a few hours…"

"What?!" Leia literally couldn't believe what she hearing. They couldn't be telling her that he was going to wake-up, could they? As if Marian had heard her silent question she replied:

"He's awake Leia. Slowly but surely he's been becoming more conscious for the last couple of hours and he's fully awake now. We've been trying to talk to Luke as the emergency contact but he hasn't been answering…"

"I think he's flying today…" Leia answered absentmindedly. "I can't believe he's awake! Is he okay? Has he said anything yet?!"

She was only just remembering all of the things the doctor had listed that could be affected by the brain injury. They suddenly filed to the front her mind like a checklist – his speech, his movement, his memory… what else was there?

"He's sitting up, talking, _joking_." Leia laughed, so far so good, that definitely sounded like her Han. "His memory seems to be fairly unaffected; just a little blurry of the events directly leading up to the crash which is what we would expect." Leia didn't know whether to be relieved that Han most likely would not remember their fight or breaking up with her. But then he wouldn't remember her telling him she loved him either. "His joints and limbs are very stiff from lack of use for so long. He'll need some intensive physical therapy but I don't see why he shouldn't get full movement back." Leia sighed in relief down the phone. This was sounding better than she could have ever hoped for. "His eyesight is a bit blurry too. We think this is just a lasting effect from the coma but we'll have to wait and see if his eyes improve on their own."

"Can I come and see him?" She heard Marian smile down the phone.

"Of course you can. He's been asking for you."

"I'm leaving now… I'll try to get a hold of Luke on my way in."

With that she ended the call. She reached for her bag and shut off her computer without even bothering to try and save what she had so far. Winter, who had been staring at her intently during the whole conversation, now stood too and walked round the desks to stand in front of her. Winter placed her hands on Leia's biceps, stopping her frantic tidying away, Leia saw she too was crying.

"He's awake?" Winter asked in disbelieve. Leia was unable to find her voice so instead she simply nodded. "Go! Go now, I'll sort all of this just go!" Leia hugged her friend quickly before rushing to the door. "Give that gorgeous man a big kiss from me!" Winter suddenly exclaimed. Leia laughed.

"I will."

/

Leia arrived at the hospital in record time. She'd manged to talk to Luke just as he'd touched down; he was already on his way and would be there soon. She was nervous to see Han for the first time without Luke, he'd always been such a natural buffer between the two. Well, except for that particular night six months ago. Things had been left so uncertain between them and it had been such a long time.

Even with these nerves though Leia's excitement shone through. He was awake. Against all the odds he was awake and seemingly alright.

She stopped just outside of his door, took a deep breath and entered.

He was there, sitting up, talking and smiling to a nurse that was taking a blood sample. Already some of the ghostly pale that had been painting his skin for all these months was starting to lift. He looked remarkably well.

"You're all done." The nurse told him happily as she took the needle from his arm.

"Thanks." His voice was raspy and weak but it still very much sounded like him. Leia closed her eyes in response to the sound – how many times had she longed to hear that voice? Too many.

The nurse, one that Leia didn't know as well as some, noticed her presence in the doorway and offered her a reassuring (and knowing) smile. Whilst Leia may not know this nurse very well it was clear the nurse knew who she was.

"You have a visitor Mr. Solo. I'll leave you two to it."

"Who's there?" Han asked as the nurse left the room. Leia didn't answer at first, she too busy staring at him in utter wonder still. "I'm sorry I can't see too clear at the moment." Han explained, gesturing vaguely to his eyes. Leia noticed how heavy he appeared to be finding his own arm. "Beyond knowing you're a body… and a little one at that…" He smiled in general her direction then. Smiled his lovely, lovely smile. "Who are you?"

Leia approached his bedside slowly and ran her fingers down the inside of his forearm.

"Someone who loves you." She told him in a voice much stronger than she felt at that moment.

"Leia!" His smile grew ten times wider in an instant as he recognised the voice at once.

She couldn't tell if he had pulled her to him or if she had fallen completely on her own, but either way she was suddenly in his surprisingly strong embrace. She felt his hands on the back of her neck, felt them slide down over her shoulders and spine. His actual hands and not just her imagination trying to recreate how they felt. After a moment she heard herself let out a muffled sob against his shoulder.

"Come here sweetheart."

Leia climbed up onto the bed beside him. He tried to shuffle over to make more room for her but she saw how much pain even that slight movement caused him. She stilled him with her hands on his shoulders, buried her head in his neck and cried earnestly. Han held her to him, his large hands rubbing soothing patterns down her back. He'd only heard her cry like that once before – on the night she'd showed up at his door, the revelation of her birth parents fresh in her memory. He didn't even want to think about what she may have been through these past six months.

"So… I take it you are the quote-unquote ' _girlfriend_ ' that all of my nurses seem to be so enamoured with?" He asked lightly. "The one is that utterly devoted and lovely and wonderful and all the other things I can't remember they said." It was true; no less than four nurses had already gushed to him about this mystery woman since he'd woken up. "Unless they're all making some kind of collective pass at you or unless I've managed to somehow obtain another girlfriend since being unconscious… which I gotta say even I would be fairly impressed by…"

Leia looked up for his neck and ran a hand over the uneven stubble on his chin.

"Well you do have me to thank for this terrible shave job."

"Oh, this was you?" Leia nodded. She then realised he probably couldn't see that right now.

"Yeah." She confirmed verbally.

"This is truly terrible." He teased her. "I can tell that and I can't even see!"

"I can't believe you're actually awake." Her tone was a lot more serious than his.

"I can't believe you were here so much… were you really here every day?"

"Most days." She replied. "I brought my work here in the evenings. I worked here, I ate here, I slept here. I hung out. I didn't really watch any movies. And I never had sex with you. It was your standard, casual kind of thing."

Han instantly recognised the words he had spoken to her in an argument they'd had over six months ago. He still couldn't believe he'd been out for that long. Han laughed in response to her joke and she realised for the first time just how much she had missed that laugh.

"That's my girl." Han said. He reached forward and ran his fingers gently over her face. She wasn't sure how much of it he could see but it was obvious he was trying to re-familiarise himself with her features.

"I am. I am your girl, right? I love you. I told you that right before it happened but I don't think you remember." Leia spoke at such a speed she was almost rambling. Han could feel the nerves rolling off of her as if she were convinced he was about to kick her out of his bed – and his life. Reject her flat out.

"Oh I remember that alright. I was hardly gonna forget it." He told her honestly. Leia was more than surprised.

"But the nurse said everything that happened right before the crash was still all blurry in your head."

"It is. I don't remember how or why we got onto that street… though I think it was something to do Luke finding out and being really mad about it?.."

"Yeah, it was." Leia confirmed.

"I remember being out there and I remember being mad at you and you saying that but somehow it didn't make me feel any better. I don't remember why though."

"It was my fault. It was all my fault. I'd upset you and chased you out there. I was distracting you so you didn't see that car coming…"

"Stop!" Han told her firmly. He could hear how upset she was becoming thinking about it all. "It's not your fault." He couldn't recall exactly what had happened but somehow he knew that much for a fact. "It's not your fault that I'm an asshole who doesn't know to look both ways before crossing the road."

"I'm not sure it would have helped. That psycho driver came out of nowhere."

"See, then it's not your either." Han reached forward and stroked her lips softly with the pads of his fingers. "I think my eyes are getting better, I can just about make out your face." To this Leia smiled. "And I can see that smile. God, I missed that smile."

"I missed you." She told him sincerely. Oh, how she had missed him.

He reached up to kiss her. It was so soft, so gently it almost was there at all. When he pulled away she kissed him again. This was a much more solid kiss, a kiss to prove to herself once and for all that he really was awake and there with her. She felt him smile into her mouth as his hands found their way to the back of her head. Things were just about to get interesting when they were very suddenly interrupted.

"Hey bud!" Luke exclaimed, flinging the door open with strong enthusiasm. He seemed either entirely oblivious or unfazed to exactly what he had just disturbed. "Welcome back to the land of the living!"

Leia pulled herself out of Han's embrace slightly as he whispered to her:

"He's not still mad about us is he?"

"No." Han smiled in genuine relief.

"Luke, my main man!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me except the mistakes as this is un-beta'd.**

 **Note: Here's the final chapter. Thank you for all love for this story, you lot are the best!**

Different Galaxy, Same Old Story

Chapter Eight

 _About a week later…_

Leia found Han's hospital room empty when she arrived that evening after work. One of the nurses on duty quickly informed her he was down the hall in the washroom, having a bath.

"On his own?" Leia asked with slight concern. She didn't think he was physically up to that just yet.

"Currently alone, yes." The nurse replied cryptically. Leia gave her a look that obviously demanded an explanation as the nurse quickly supplied one: "He was rather resistant to any help. I did try."

Leia snorted in understanding. She was sure the nurse had tried. And the reaction by the sounds of it, had been very typical of Han's behaviour since he'd woke up. Though everyone that had visited Han in the last week (and that had felt like practically everyone Han had ever known – besides the noticeable absence of his mother), all that had come had commented on the apparent speed of his recovery. But of course it wasn't speedy enough for Han. He was becoming increasingly frustrated with himself at not being able to do everything straight away.

"I was just going to check on him." The nurse added after a moment's pause.

"I'll go. I'll try and persuade him to behave." The nurse gave Leia a rather suggestive look.

"Well I'm sure you can be a lot more persuasive than me."

"Knock, knock." Leia called softly as she entered the washroom and found Han sitting in the tub, his back to her. He turned to look over his shoulder, hissed in pain, and then faced forwards again.

"Is it that time already?" He asked.

He was referring to the little routine they had gotten into in the last week. She tended to come at around the same time every evening when she had finished work. Usually he was more than pleased to see her. He sounded anything but that tonight.

"Afraid so." Leia replied light heartedly. He didn't respond. She could see the clear separation on his back of the parts he was able to reach and had washed and the parts that still eluded his grasp. She leant down to kiss him on the cheek, whispering seductively in his ear as she did: "Want me to scrub your back?"

"No thanks." Was the grumpy retort.

"Come on, I'll make it worth your while…" Leia reached for the body-scrubber he held in his hand but he pulled it away from her.

"I said I'm fine." He reached round to try and get at his back again. The action made him wince in pain to such a degree he was almost gasping for breath, the agony painted all over his face.

"What is the point of hurting yourself by trying to do too much too soon?!" Leia demanded. Han wasn't the only one that was angry now. His response came in a tight and raised voice:

"Too much?! Is it too much to expect to be able to take a fucking bath without any assistance? Christ! You're worse than the nurses. You treat me like a fucking child!" Han threw the scrubber into the bath with such force that a load of water splashed over the side and hit Leia, who was now sitting in a chair next to him. She jumped in surprise both at the splash of water and at his words.

"Okay." She said as she stood from the chair.

Han could hear the upset in her voice and sighed in frustration. The very last thing he wanted to do was to hurt her. After everything she had done for him she certainly didn't deserve what he had just said to her.

Leia made her way to the door.

"Leia, wait, please. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I'm an idiot, ignore me."

She didn't respond but as she got to the door she didn't leave as he had expected. Instead he heard her flick the lock and pull a chair under the door handle to make extra sure no one else could come in. She then walked to stand next to the bath once more. He watched, wordlessly and in shock, as she slowly began to remove her clothing. First her shoes, then her skirt and blouse, her bra and underwear too, until she was standing completely naked in front of him, tying up her hair on the top of her head.

Despite how angry he was feeling just a moment ago he couldn't help but almost gawp at her. It had been so long and she was so very, very beautiful that some natural reactions were inevitable. A certain part of his body was definitely beginning to wake up.

She stepped forward and began to climb into the bath with him.

"What are you doing?" He could hear how shaky (and a little pathetic) his own voice sounded.

She lowered herself into the water carefully until she was on his lap, facing him, with her knees either side of his thighs. She was raised out of the water so it only came to her bellybutton and Han found himself, quite without thinking, reaching forward to run his hands all over her top half to keep her warm. It was also quite a good excuse to touch her of course. She saw him marvelling at her body as if it were the first time he had seen it. If this had been a ploy to lift him out of his mood, it was working.

"I'm being a complete asshole, aren't I?" He asked quietly.

"Kind of. But I think you're allowed to be at the moment. I know how frustrating this must be for you – to have to learn how to use your body again. I sympathise but I can't empathise. I have no idea how that feels. What I do know is that your recovery so far has been nothing short of miraculous. But that doesn't mean you can't say when you are struggling. That you can't tell me when you're in pain. It's not going to scare me off, I promise. You're stuck with me now."

She accompanied her words with a gentle stroke to his cheek. She felt him swallow nervously under her wet fingers. It appeared she'd hit the nail on the head with her assumption of his feelings. She couldn't blame him for thinking so little of her. Her behaviour before the accident was not exactly a shining example of her strength of character.

"I suppose if you were willing to stick around while I took a six month long nap…"

"And you were willing to stick around while I was the nightmare I was before the accident…" Han smiled at her as her hands found his face once more. "I think it's what you do when you love someone." He leant up to kiss her but she stopped him at the last minute: "See?!" She suddenly exclaimed.

"See what?"

"That's the second time I've said those words to you without a car coming crashing round the corner and knocking you out. I think the curse is officially lifted!"

He stared at her in dumbfounded shock for a moment before bursting out laughing at the absurdity of her joke.

"I love you." He told her seriously a few moments later.

"I know." Was her perfect reply. After a few more moments of comfortable silence she suddenly asked: "Do you remember the first time you saw me naked?"

"Of course I do!"

"You said my body was perfect." In any other situation Han would have teased her at how self-confident (read arrogant) she sounded. Not in any way the same unsure and shy girl whose body he had seen for the first time that night all those months ago.

"It was. It still is. Even if you could do with a couple burgers in you." He told her as his fingers danced over the ribs that were slightly more pronounced than they had been the last time he had seen them. A clear testament to the fact she hadn't been looking after herself as well as she had been him the last few months.

"Well why don't you focus on that." He looked at her in confusion. "My perfect little body all up on yours. Focus on that instead of what you, and you alone, perceive to be the humiliation of someone who cares about you trying to look after you."

"You telling me to just sit here and stare at your naked body?"

"Basically."

"I think I can do that."

"Oh good." Leia replied sarcastically.

She reached for the scrubber and this time he didn't try to stop her. She shifted forward on his lap, reached behind and started to wash his back. Han's own arms wrap her back as his head came to rest on her shoulder. He heard her breathy laugh and felt her give an extra little wriggle in his lap. The latter causing an involuntary moan to escape his mouth.

"Really hotshot?" She teased in response to the growing arousal she could feel against her.

"You are wriggling around in my lap, what do you expect?"

She moved back to look at him – a naughty look at that.

"I expect you to show your own personal nurse some equally _personal_ gratitude." She answered, reaching down to give him a devouring kiss.

/

 _A few weeks later…_

"Alright, alright, alright, you drunken lot, listen up!" Lando exclaimed as he stood from his seat and tried to engage the noisy and distracted crowd.

The whole group of them were gathered in their favourite booth at _Dak's_ bar to celebrate Han's release from hospital the day before. The honouree of this little gathering sat in the middle of the booth, a rather intoxicated Leia perched precariously on his knee as she leaned over to talk to Winter on the other side of the table. Winter, as always, was sat wrapped around Tycho. Luke, Wedge, and a few other Squadron boys were also crammed into the small area all chatting loudly and completely ignoring Lando.

"I said shut it!" Lando bellowed and the group finally obeyed. "That's better. Thank you. Right I thought someone better say a few words as to why we have all been dragged out here on a Wednesday night…"

"Can't hack the pace Lando? You used to be up for hitting it on a Sunday not so long ago!" One of the squadron boys heckled. Lando simply gave him the middle finger in response.

"As I was saying… I think we should all raise a glass to this lucky bastard right here…" Lando said indicating to Han. "Lucky for not only having the prettiest girl in the room bouncing up and down on his lap…" Lando winked in Leia's direction.

"Thanks very much!" Winter commented as Luke looked a little uncomfortable about the open innuendo involving his sister.

"Joint prettiest, joint prettiest, obviously, Winter that goes without saying. But anyway… he is also the only son of a bitch in the world that can take a speeding car to the chest and get up and walk it off like nothing has happened… albeit six months later." Wedge and Squadron boys cheered. Han noticed Leia grip his hand a little tighter and got the impression she was no longer holding onto him purely for balance. "Now whilst we've all had a lovely, peaceful, quiet time while you were out…" Lando paused for a moment, suddenly seeming rather emotional. "We're all bloody glad to have you back!"

"Here, here!" Luke hollered and everyone else began to cheer.

"Now to demonstrate that fact – let's all get absolutely wankered!" Lando's declaration was met with another round of cheering as the booth slowly emptied to go and get more drinks.

"Soppy shit." Han said quietly so only Leia could hear. Despite his words she could tell what Lando's little speech had meant to him.

"There just all very happy to have you back. Nothing wrong with that."

"Not as happy as you though, right?" Han teased, the flirtatious glint very obvious in his eye. In response Leia leaned forward and kissed him. The kiss was bordering on indecent for a public place and coming from Leia who, before the accident, would not so much as look in his direction when out in public in case someone found out, well it was clear the last few months had certainly caused a turnaround in her feelings. "You're drunk." He told when the kiss finally ended.

"I'm not!" The strong denial absolute proof that she was.

"Well in that case you should be." Han reached forward and gave Leia one of the drinks Wedge has just brought to the table. "You've got six months of socialising and drinking to catch up on." Leia downed the drink in one without as much as a grimace. "Good girl." Han was clearly impressed.

He looked out onto the dancefloor and saw Winter and Tycho dancing. Once again they behaved as if no one else were in the room. He chuckled to himself. He didn't think Leia could ever get drunk enough to do that. And quite honestly he was glad. There were certain things that should be left for the privacy of the bedroom. He had certain moves he was very happy that only Leia would get to see from now on.

"It's nice to see some things haven't changed." He told Leia pointing to Winter and Tycho. Leia smiled.

"I've never seen her so serious about anyone before… I think she might have found the one she wants to grind against for the rest of time."

"That's sweet." Han laughed, pulling Leia closer to him and kissing her forehead. "I'd happily grind against you for the rest of time." He whispered breathily in her ear.

"Shut up!" But the comment earnt him another solid kiss.

As they pulled apart Luke and Lando made their way back towards the booth and took their seats opposite.

"You know as happy as I am for you two it's still a little weird for me to see you together." Luke said.

"Awh don't worry Luke, we still love you!" Han mocked, reaching over the table to squeeze one of Luke's cheeks. Luke shoved him off but was grinning.

"I see you're back to normal."

"You know now that your _lovely_ sister…" Lando began, turning to face Luke but was suddenly interrupted.

"For god sake Lando! All the soppy-ass speeches in the world are not stop me kicking your ass if you don't stop coming on to Leia!" Han exclaimed. For a moment the whole table sat in uncomfortable and unnatural silence before Han burst out laughing. The others soon followed suit. Everyone knew the likelihood of Lando ever ceasing to flirt with a pretty girl was near impossible.

"Let me finish, let me finish…" Lando rambled. Leia was definitely not the only one a little tipsy tonight. In fact for possibly the first time ever Han was the most sober one at the party. "All I was going to say was now the gorgeous Leia has officially taken you off of the market I need to get myself a new wingman."

"I hope you're not suggesting Luke!" Leia giggled and Han joined in. Luke blanched a little.

"What's that supposed to mean? Why is that idea so funny?"

Leia didn't get a chance to reply as at that exact moment Wedge came bundling into the booth, climbed over Lando and pulled Leia to standing position before dragging her back out. As he passed Luke he pulled him up with his spare hand, dragging both siblings to the dance floor to join Winter, Tycho and the other Squadron boys. Wedge did all of this without uttering a single word.

A few moments later Leia felt a hand on her waist and turned to see Han standing behind her, leaning on his stick for support. Although he'd continued to make unbelievable progress over the last few weeks, he still needed the stick when standing for any length of time – for now. She knew he'd be off of it no time. And, at last, Han had started to realise just how speedy his recovery was going compared what could have been and was learning to go with it. Leia wouldn't go as far as to say he was being patient with himself but he was certainly better than before.

Just goes to show what a stern talking, butt-naked, and sitting astride a man in a bath can do.

"Have you come to give me a whirl old man?" Leia joked, reaching both arms around his neck and pulling him closer to her. "Where's Lando?"

"Two guesses." She looked over Han's shoulder to see Lando at the bar talking and laughing with some petit blonde. Some things truly do never change.

"You know he's definitely not in need of wingman."

"Never was." Han laughed.

As the next song began to play both Leia and Han noticed Luke downing a number of shots with Wedge at the dancefloor's edge. Once finished he began approaching them, arms flailing wildly at his sides in what they thought was supposed to be dancing.

"Woo! This is my jam!" Luke declared as he pulled Leia into a swaying embrace.

Han took a moment to look around. Winter and Tycho were still all but getting it on as if they were entirely alone. Lando was still chatting up endless girls at the bar. Wedge and the Squadron boys were still downing drinks they all knew they'd regret in the morning. Luke still couldn't handle his liquor, and Leia was still humouring her drunk brother with a roll of the eyes. All was as it was before. At least it would have been if Leia had not turned to look at Han and given him a wink that was casual, flirty and yet somehow managed to convey all the love he now knew she felt for him. The same love he felt for her. Scrap all being as was before. All was now exactly as it should be.

 _End_


End file.
